28 september 2020, Oscar van Gelderen & Manuela Klerkx
Anna's pick...
In this section we let a selection of art lovers – from occasional buyers to art professionals – talk about their perception of art and preferences: where do they want to see art? Where do they purchase art, and above all: from which artists do they buy? Below, an interview with Anna den Drijver (Photographer, age 45)
What does art mean to you?
Art allows you to look at the world in a different way, allows you to step out of your own cocoon for a while and makes room for reflection at a time when everything seems to be fleeting. I honestly cannot imagine life without art.
Arturo Kameya, You never wash up after yourself N°3, 2020, GRIMM.
Were you exposed to art while growing up?
Art was part of my upbringing. Books my parents bought at exhibitions and museums were scattered around the house. In the weekends we visited museums, cities and nature. This way taught me to look at things from various perspectives. Not that I always appreciated this as a child, by the way.
Where do you read about the latest developments in the art world?
On Instagram, newsletters from museums and galleries, and online media such as Hyperallergic, GalleryViewer and Artnews.
Janine van Oene, Frillis, 2019, Gerhard Hofland.
Where do you prefer to look at art?
I don't really have a preference, I can look at art anywhere. I also really enjoy viewing art in the open air. I often visit galleries specifically. Also, I like to attend the open days of the Rijksakademie, and I have a special relationship with Foam.
Daniëlle van Ark, Xavier, Paul and Leopold, 2019, tegenboschvanvreden.
How often do you buy art each year?
There is a lot of photography in our house. That is why I like not to look for photography or other editioned work as a counterpart.
Where do you do your buying: in a gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?
During the lockdown, I bought my first work online. It was a photo by Ed van der Elsken, at Annet Gelink Gallery. Normally, I enjoy being physically in a gallery, with all the peace and quiet there is for a conversation with the gallerist about the work or the exhibition. I think the nice thing about a fair is that you have a good overall picture of all the work shown.
Johan Tahon, Arctic Face, 2019, Gerhard Hofland.
Is it important that you and your partner always agree on a purchase?
I tend to be the one who proposes to buy a work if I happen to run into something. If there's anything I'm excited about, let's take another look together. Only when we are both convinced do we actually make a purchase.
Do you have a special relationship with any one gallery?
I like the atmosphere at Galerie Gerhard Hofland, and I also like to visit Grimm Gallery. I would like to visit Annet Gelink Gallery more often, because the artists she represents really appeal to me, Rezi van Lankveld and David Claerbout particularly.
Rezi van Lankveld, Cherry, 2019, Annet Gelink Gallery.
If you had an unlimited budget, who would you buy a work from?
Given an unlimited budget, I would like to have a work by Jenny Saville. I would hang this work next to a work by Marlene Dumas. Or perhaps next to a photo of Nan Goldin. Alice Neel is one of my most loved portrait painters. Finally, I would also like to own a work by Louise Bourgeois.
Marjolijn de Wit, Untitled, 2020, Gerhard Hofland.
Who are your favourite artists?
In the work of Janine van Oene you simultaneously feel man and nature. One can recognize daily life her work, but never too explicit.
Johan Tahon makes mystical and artisanal images that carry a certain transience, which can scour and move one at the same time.
In terms of use of colour, William Monk's landscapes are not realistic, which makes you dwell on his work for a long time. I look forward to the "Mount Atom" exhibition, which opens next Friday at Grimm Gallery.
William Monk, Untitled III (Green Rise), 2019, GRIMM.
