I regularly come across Dutch artists who are relatively unknown in the United States. Their work is daring, vibrant, and intriguing, but for some strange reason never made it across the Atlantic Ocean and into view of potential admirers. The three main Dutch artists who come to mind are the painters Klaas Gubbels and Reinier Lucassen, and the artist, filmmaker, actor, writer, and director Alex van Warmerdam.
There are two key traits these artist share, the first being the colorful and vivid palettes these artist employ and the second is their playful (and sometimes dark) senses of humor. In all of their cases, their work has stopped me cold when passing through museums.
Part I: Alex van Warmerdam
I first saw van Warmderdam’s paintings at an art museum in Schiedam, a suburb close to Rotterdam. I was immediately taken with his vibrant and inky figurative paintings. On the surface his work looks innocent but on closer inspection there is always something sinister lurking. We lingered in front of every painting for a long time and sat and watched the clips from his films in the tiny projection rooms. I was hooked. I bought his entire collection of films from the gift shop on my way out of the museum that day. I didn’t care that his films didn’t have English subtitles. Just looking at them was enough. I’m still trying to puzzle out some of the translations.
Alex van Warmerdam was born in 1952 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. He comes from a family of artists and musicians. I find his paintings to be extraordinary, for their themes, colors, and imagination. I’ve always felt that artists make the best film makers. I sometimes feel like van Warmerdam could be described as mixing Woody Allen with Wes Anderson and then giving them an evil brother.
If you watch the film “The Dress” for example, van Warmerdam’s character tries to seduce women in a sinister way while saying “I’m normal. I’m a good guy.” He’s such a freak, but he’s also absurd and hilarious at the same time. Actually, I just got creeped out writing that, because some of the scenes are very perverse; just know, the girl always gets away in the end.
There is currently an exhibition on Alex van Warmerdam at the Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam. If you’re visiting the city, I strongly recommend it. There have film clips of his work (with English translations), paintings and a constructed film set that you can walk through on your own. I loved this! I’m hoping a film museum in the USA can buy this work and put it in their permanent collection. Any takers in mind? Send them my way.
As for the reasons van Warmerdam is not yet well known in the USA, I believe he simply is not interested in expanding his reach to the Americas. There is most certainly an audience for his work there, but you will be hard pressed to find his films translated into English. That is a real shame. He gained some notoriety with his 2013 film, “Borgman,” which came close to being nominated for an Oscar.
The second artist is the figurative painter, Klass Gubbels and the third is the Amsterdam painter Reinier Lucassen. Stay tuned for more to follow.
The Art Bureau 