The book: Retour New York-Amsterdam: a photo book portraying 16 artists. Eight American artists living and working in Amsterdam and vice versa for the eight Dutch artists. The artists are photographed in their studios and together with their art. Sandi, the curator, started the research on these uprooted artists when she sensed the effect that change of place was having on her own work. The bilingual text tells their stories and the influence of their new-found cities. Written and photographed by Sacha de Boer, news personality and photographer. Published by Atlas.

The exhibit: The exhibit, Retour New York Amsterdam, was a creative form of bringing the book alive on the walls and in the salons and rooms of Huize Frankendael. Each artist selected a work special for this exhibit.

The artists: Charlotte Dumas, Jimmy Rage, Helen Verhoeven, David Lindberg, Liselot van der Heijden, Charlie Citron, Elise Tak, Eddie Woods, Sebastiaan Bremer, Heather Jeltes-Davis, Leo de Goede, Karen Birnholz, Sjoerd Doting Betsey Green, Hans Broek, Renee Ridgway.

Art dinner: During the exhibit two intimate dinners took place in the Grand Salon at Huize Frankedndael.  The artists chosen for these events were; Charlotte Dumas and Helen Verhoeven.  Both evenings were unique, the women spoke of what inspires their work as well as giving a small presentation.  The menus were selected by the artists.

NY presentation at CLIC: After a successful debut in the Netherlands, the roundtrip was complete with a book launch and signing at Clic bookstore/gallery on Centre Street in NYC. The event was well attended with book signings by the authors as well as many of the artists.  RTL Boulevard, filmed an interview with Sacha during the event.

Exhibition 1: artwork by Helen Verhoeven and Alon Levin. The work was specifically created for the space at the Tommy Hilfiger showroom on the Rokin in Amsterdam. The artists were chosen by the curator, Sandi Gehring.

Paintings: a wall installation by Helen Verhoeven, presents 104 black and white paintings on a 12 x 5 meter wall. The works are hung side by side, and above and below one another, to create a salon-style display of wide-ranging interpretations on the theme of portraiture. Painting styles and moods within the abundance of faces on the wall seem to clash and harmonize simultaneously. Patterns and connections are discovered as the diverse references enter into dialog with one another. Fragments of old masters’ paintings can be found besides pop-culture icons; film stills are referenced, some contemporary artists quoted; characters from Verhoeven’s earlier work and portraits of her sculptures are present, while images from her research archive are distorted into vaguely familiar but entirely unnamable new creatures.

Center of the Universe, Follow Me: a giant sculpture created by Alon Levin, suspended from the ceiling in the center of the room. These cardboard boxes in the form of panels of some sort are jutting like flags on broomsticks in all directions from a wooden central hub. They all seem to hold something waiting to be revealed or perhaps something that has been discarded and stored for some time. Nothing is colored just the emptiness of a seemingly collapsed system is celebrated by the object’s presence hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room. The work hanging in the grandness of the room with its 5 meter high ceiling and wide tall windows, suggests possible past or future narratives, or perhaps a center in suspense, waiting for everything to implode into it.

Art Dinner: art meets fashion in a creative environment.  For the opening of the exhibition, a private dinner was staged on the Rokin in the room surrounded by the artwork of Levin and Verhoeven. The event was a partnership between Tommy Hilfiger and Fantastic Man magazine.  The intimate dinner for 25 guests, all working in different disciplines of Art and Fashion and traveling from different cities, created a platform for fascinating discussions and conversation.

photos: barwerd van der plas

JIMMIE JAMES

Urban Art House: "Nothing on the walls" group show.
UAH; an art gallery and creative art agency, chose to transform a 17th century canal house on the Herengracht in Amsterdam into a contemporary and urban art show.

Sandi Gehring, guest curator for this event, chose a selection of painted wooden boards from NY street artist Jimmie James. Bringing the streets of New York City to the chic canals of Amsterdam. James' paintings ring true: they offer deep emotional honesty. His abstract canvases balance layered fields of color with automatic drawings. Exuberant splashes of color introduce a playful element, frequently underlined by titles that read like clips of dialogue from a novel based in NY.

There was opening event attended by more than 400 visitors. Julian Lennon made a guest appearance to exhibit his photography and speak with some visitors.

To close the event we had an intimate dinner in the canal house attended by the artists and collectors and surrounded by the artworks.

artbites: an initiative to invite-delight-excite-ignite the senses.

A dinner, luncheon or cocktail event in a space where you are surrounded by Art. The conversation happens, just because.

The first collaboration was together with the creative team behind People’s Place. It was an opportunity for Chef, Otto Nout and crew, to let their creativity go crazy. He made a visit to the studios, a different space for each course, and was inspired by the artwork and ambience of the different studios and created a site-specific menu. Amazing!

Studio SG invited Michel to exhibit his photos and share them with friends and cocktails. His photos expose unexpected and beautiful forms founds on weathered walls and ancient doors.

Michel Rosenfelder: It is the many years spent in fashion that triggered Michel Rosenfelder’s interest in unexpected aesthetic forms. The images fall into the categories: landscapes - portraits - textures - abstracts.

During his travels, where others would bring back images of palaces and great landscapes, he would discover small passages photographing the walls of an old workshop in Asia or an angle of a wall in a popular area in New York. Through his eyes, surfaces eroded by humidity come to life. Battered by the rain and the sun their plaster is scaling of letting the shadows and light escape. A strange beauty drawn by an invisible hand in a place where no one would expect to find it. In places, they let their worn coating that time has coloured beautifully come to life. The cracks tell stories that only they hold the secret of.

Built to protect, these walls open windows to imaginary images, visions of another world, abstract forms in soft colours like modern art paintings. Still, they breathe time and life. Anonymous, they reveal all facets of their character.

It is the strength of these images revealing an unexpected beauty that is enhanced in the surprised look of the observer that drags us into a strange world journey, which resembles no other.
Adriano ROSSI, Director of fashion press and Public Relations

black shapes found in the landscape

Portrait of a Landscape - Exhibit February 2017