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Pas de deux
Pas de deux is an exhibition in which regional collectors choose a work from the Bonnefanten Collection to combine with a work from their own collection.
On show until 3 December 2023.
In Pas de deux, you see the art of the Bonnefanten in a new light, through an exceptional collaboration between the museum and regional art collectors. The collectors bring together an artwork from their own collection and an iconic work from the Bonnefanten collection. So the exhibition allows visitors to see art from ‘just around the corner’, which is usually hidden from view. The presence of these works also lets you see the museum collection from a new perspective – through the eyes of private collectors. Like dancers performing a duet, the artworks presented together in the exhibition have a more exciting and multifaceted story to tell. In Pas de deux, the Bonnefanten is collaborating with two collector couples: Netty and Jeu van Sint Fiet, and Gert and Nicole Beijer.
Netty and Jeu van Sint Fiet’s choice
The Van Sint Fiet collection exudes a love of the region, their own family and a love of Jeu’s profession: general practice. The works, most of which were made on commission, have a personal feel to them and express a holistic view of life, the body and collecting. The couple believe that everything links up with and overlaps one another. The commissions arise from long-standing relationships with the artists. At its best, a commission for a new work is a process in which both parties inspire one another.
The duo of artworks presented by Netty and Jeu in Pas de deux not only sheds light on art commissions through the ages, but also tells of the changing role of the artist, who becomes gradually more autonomous throughout history, and is increasingly present in his own work. The work chosen from the Bonnefanten collection is the triptych depicting the adoration of the Christ Child, the adoration of the Magi and the presentation of Christ in the temple. The work was made by the ‘Master of 1518’, who produced numerous works like this in his Antwerp workshop. For the collector couple, this work is not about the maker (we do not even know his name), but about faith and the glorification of Jesus Christ. The triptych is combined with a triptych by Philip Akkerman (1957, Vaassen). Usually, the artist only creates self-portraits, but in this triptych we see the portraits of Netty, Philip and Jeu. In Philip Akkerman’s triptych, however, the artist occupies such a central place that, if we look carefully, we see his face three times.
Gert and Nicole Beijer’s choice
The Beijer collection consists almost entirely of non-figurative works in a diversity of materials, ranging from paintings to installations, photos and videos. Aesthetics and craftsmanship are the selection criteria for Gert and Nicole. The works in their collection were created by around 25 artists from 15 different countries. They are predominantly young artists with a sound education, who have already taken their first professional steps.
Gert and Nicole Beijer’s Pas de deux revolves around an age-old saying: ‘Memento mori – remember you must die’. The work chosen from the Bonnefanten collection is the early 16th-century Corpus (1505-1510) by Jan van Steffeswert. For the Beijers, a Corpus Christi is an excellent example of a memento mori. The work is combined with Tibaststigen 6, by Linnéa Sjöberg (1983, Sweden), which is named after the address where the artist grew up. For her, she says, this work is a memento mori. It is a parchment bag filled with mementos from her parental home, such as twigs from the garden, building waste and an old T-shirt. They are symbols that stand for leaving behind her youth: ‘partir c’est mourir un peut’.
Specials thanks to the collectors Netty en Jeu van Sint Fiet and Gert en Nicole Beijer.
This exhibition is made possible by:
Note for press:
For more information, interviews and visual material, please contact Kris Németh via pressoffice@bonnefanten.nl or +31 (0)6-27364802.