14 december 2020, Oscar van Gelderen & Manuela Klerkx
Ask an Art Collector... Jitteke Runia
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 Jitteke Runia (Co-owner of OnlyHuman and partner and consultant at DUX International, age 60)
What does art mean to you?
Looking at art is a bit going on holiday inside your head. New vistas, unexpected associations, surprising perspectives. The best art is art that you experience; not just looking at pictures, but experiencing a sensation in the mind and the heart.
Mathieu Cherkit, Untitled, 2019, Albada Jelgersma Gallery.
Were you exposed to art while growing up?
At home there was more interest in literature and music. After I moved to the city to study, I soon discovered visual art for myself.
Where do you read about the latest developments in the art world?
I regularly speak with gallery owners and artists, and I visit art fairs both at home and abroad to keep an overview of broader developments. For more background, I mainly read the newspapers, and if I want to know something specific I search online.
Where do you prefer to look at art?
I really enjoy visiting art fairs; my favourites are Art Rotterdam, Paris Photo and Unseen. In every city I visit, business or pleasure, I try to visit at least one museum.
Misha de Ridder, arven I, Albada Jelgersma Gallery.
How often do you buy art each year?
For a few years I bought about five to ten works of art a year, now a little less. Since I buy a lot of photography, it usually concerns editioned work, but I also have unique pieces.
Where do you do your buying: in a gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?
I buy in the gallery or at a fair. I never buy online, I want to talk to the gallerist or the artist about the work. Vintage photography appeals to me because of the unique, historical moment and story that is hidden behind it.
Is it important that you and your partner always agree on a purchase?
When I look back at what I bought, I am most satisfied with the purchases that I have decided on myself. Choosing together often means a compromise and that doesn't work very well with art for me.
Erwin Olaf, Still Lives, Still Life with Triteleia, 2018, Galerie Ron Mandos.
Do you have a special relationship with any one gallery?
Albada Jelgersma, because Renée has such an incredibly keen eye. Her choice of art is very precise and intuitive at the same time, and is very much in line with my taste.
I have been going to Martin and Fiona from FLATLAND for years now. It's always nice to talk to them, and I always pick up something to think about. Not just about art, by the way. There is always something to laugh with them, it is not all that serious.
If you had an unlimited budget, who would you buy a work from?
I’d buy a Jeff Wall. Or else a work by Michael Raedecker. In that case I should not only have more budget, but also more space to hang it ...
Who are your favourite artists?
Mathieu Cherkit is an incredible painter, who depicts his own immediate environment in an unparalleled way and stretches it into exciting perspectives. Always surprising, and even with a bit of humour (and you don't see that often in visual arts).
Misha de Ridder recently made a beautiful film and series in Switzerland: "Resilience" (can still be seen via Galerie Albada Jelgersma).
I bought work from various series from Erwin Olaf. I certainly don't like all of his work, but I think his Berlin series is really beautiful.
Ed van der Elsken, Noord-Holland, 1974, Annet Gelink Gallery.
