My first Exposition!

Dear Reader,

I have some big news to share with you. Just next weekend I will be exhibiting my originals from the last year in the ‘Kunstrondje XXL’ (Artwalk) in Zaltbommel!

I made this decision way too casually. ‘The pieces are already done, all I’ve got to do is hang them’ I thought… HARDLY. This will actually be my first big art exhibition, and I’ve been planning for weeks. Have you ever searched for a Gantt chart maker? That's what the prospect of my first show has done. Custom framing fo 12 pieces, display, storytelling, prints. It will all be there, without damaging the walls of the location, if all goes well.

The location! By chance (one afternoon my friend and fellow-artist Monique and I went knocking on doors in Zaltbommel) we were so kindly invited to setup in the famous ‘Karl Marx house’, where the philosopher himself wrote parts of his manifesto ‘Das Kapital’ while housing with prosperous relatives who lived in the town. I see this as further evidence of this inspiring region which has moved creators to execute their ideas throughout the ages, and, once again, the graciousness of patrons who provide space for the arts!

And what’s life without friends: I’m really happy to be sharing the space with Monique van de Wijdeven (photographer) and another fellow artist-friend from our area, photographer Yvonne Dijkstra. If you’re nearby please feel welcome to stop by! I am nervous but so excited to be exhibiting all of my 2025 originals for sale, as well as prints, and examples from my creative process.

📆 5-6 September from 11-17u, Gasthuisstraat 12, Zaltbommel

And finally... Paris?

Have you thought about art history lately? I was in Paris a few weekends ago and visited Musee D’Orsay for the first time. It was a priority because of the collection of impressionist painters like Monet, Renoir, Degas… Among the throngs of visitors and children taking selfies, I stood there making a few notes that I wanted to share with you. One was about Monet’s experiments recording the influence of light. The museum exhibits a number of his ‘Roven Cathedral’ paintings. With these paintings, the artist captured how the appearance of the cathedral’s facade was influenced by changing lighting conditions. Critics were astounded, remarking that “…reality is present and becomes transfigured.” I was fascinated. Not just by the incredible paintings, but by a kind of creative time travel vertigo. What was then a mind-bending and revolutionary way to perceive the world back then, is now a banal and mostly unappreciated utility today: Snap a photo with your phone. Swipe. ‘Warm light’. Swipe. ‘Vivid cool’… Swipe. ’Tropical’. Monet was essentially painting…’photo filters’.

This realization kicked up a little dust storm of questions in my mind. Was he seeing the future? Did this experiment inform the development of photo and light filters? Or is it just one of many existing possibilities that are always there, but articulated differently at different times in history?? (Is that a thing?) For me it only enriches the pursuit of observing and researching the world around me. Part of that research is learning about history, to expand my perception and understand what’s been shown as possible. Because possibilities are most within reach when you can perceive them!

Well that's all for now. Hope you’re well, and charged up from the summer. Stay curious and see you next time,

xRachel