In the 'Ask a collector...' section we let a variety of art lovers, from occasional buyers to art professionals, have their say about their experience of art, and we ask about their preferences: where do they prefer to see art? Where do they buy, and above all: who do they buy? This time it’s Jolande Withuis (writer and sociologist, age 72). Her biography of visual artist Jeanne Bieruma Oosting (1898-1994) was recently published: Geen tijd verliezen (No time to lose)
What does art mean to you?
When it comes to visual arts, first of all fun, awe and beauty. An unexpected look at things. Figurative art can show everyday objects and scenes in a new light. Good art evokes feelings. I don't like conceptual art, let alone explicit social messages. For work that is not immediately attractive for its beauty, I prefer enigmatic images from which you can draw your own conclusions. In my book about Jeanne Oosting I have included a moving lithograph in which baby bodies float around a naked woman lying on her back. So intriguing, I just have to watch it over and over again. The work is reminiscent of a painting Frida Kahlo made after a series of miscarriages, but what prompted Oosting to create this tormented work is unknown.
Some exhibitions have the effect that I feel like making something myself. At the moment I am trying to embroider a work by Sonia Delaunay – in small format. For that I have to analyze such a design meticulously and that puzzling ensures that I understand better what makes its abstractions so dynamic.
Were you exposed to art while growing up?
No, I didn't get anything from home. My parents never took me to a museum. At my gymnasium, there weren’t any museum visits or art history classes. My interest came later, from myself, and nurtured by courses; I especially have fond memories of a course in the mid-eighties on Saturday mornings in the old Stedelijk Museum, which – fortunately – was not yet 'woke' at the time.
I find the current developments in art terrifying and destructive. It is especially scary that those in charge, from ministers to curators and reviewers, uncritically embrace all sloganeering. Because I come from a communist environment, where all life, including art, was viewed and analyzed from a purely political point of view, I know from experience how disastrous politicization is for making and experiencing art. The value of art for me is that it is an individual expression; no message from or to a collective. Paternalistic warnings about colonialism and the like spoil it for me. I can think of all that myself.
Where do you read about the latest developments in the art world?
Mainly newspapers and also TV documentaries. Tips from friends are also important.
Where do you prefer to look at art?
I don't feel sophisticated enough for galleries. I'm not going in there. I visit museums a lot; It's great that it's a bit quieter thanks to the pandemic. I also read a lot of art books and I look a lot of online auction catalogues.
How often do you buy art each year? Do you buy unique works or editioned work?
At most twice a year. Preferably unique work. We have work by Else Berg, Margaretha Feuerstein, Leo Gestel, Suze Robertson, Kees Verwey and of course Jeanne Oosting.
Where do you do your buying: in a gallery, at an art fair, at an auction or online?
I started out at the art dealers, where you are helped with information, the work is in good condition and you can compare it with other work. In the meantime I have been able to buy something beautiful at auction several times through commission. I found it very satisfying to discover that for myself. One of my great loves is the painting 'Verse vijgen [Fresh figs]' by Jeanne Oosting, which was pointed out to me by a friend when we visited a viewing day at Christie's. It was in very poor condition, but after restoration turned out to be a gem.
Is it important that you and your partner always agree on a purchase?
Preferably a joint decision, because I don't buy to store it but to hang it on a wall.
IDo you have a special relationship with any one gallery?
No, I follow a number of auction houses and the catalogues of Simonis & Buunk.
If you had an unlimited budget, whose work would you buy?
Oh, what a thought! The house would be filled to the attic. Pierre Bonnard, David Hockney, Gabrielle Münter, a Delaunay tapestry…
On the occasion of the publication of the biography of Jeanne Bieruma Oosting, we are placing work by artists who have won the Jeanne Oosting Prize.