Invitation to My Open Studio

I hope you can come to my open studio, a kind of good bye to things as they are now.

The last works from the serie Guilty and some of the last portraits will be there either hanging or stapled for you to look at them. Also you could see some of the recent mini sculptures.

The garden will be open too.

On that day 44 other art studios in Benoordenhout will be open (maps available).

See you Sunday 5th of June between 11am and 5 pm at Jozef Israelslaan 36b, Benoordenhout in The Hague. www.marisapolin.com

Eugenics in the art

Gert Germeraad shows his last portraits.

"On Racial Biology" (Eugenics) are based upon pictures from the Swedish Institute of Racial Biology in Uppsala (1921-1958) - we see a number of portraits of people who were victims of Herman Lundborg and other eugenicists. Germeraad's work is a way to restore the dignity and identity of these people.

Portrait of the portrait painters

This is a photo, taken already some months ago, when most of the participants of the exhibition Portraits Now (Portrettisten Nu) got together to meet.
Portrait of the Dutch portrait painters:
Left: Dick Stapel, in between many of the artists: Bianca Berends, Marike Bok, Piet van den Boog, Erik Bosma, Dora Carpentier, Daan van Doorn, Sam Drukker, Jacque Gregoire, Ellen de Groot, Jurriaan van Hall, Annelies Hoek, Erik de Jong, Matt Kissingh, Dorine Kuiper, Judith Lansink, Urban Larsson, Frank Leenhouts, Marjolein Menke, Ab de Nijs Bik, Eva Ooms, Stijn Rietman, Joop Rubens, Roderik van Schaardenburg, Ans Schumacher, Janneke Viegers, Robert Vorstman and completely to the right Marisa Polin.

To see more on this: Dutch portraits now

Kouji Ohno

Artist Kouji Ohno.

I had the chance of see the Japanese sculptor Kouji Ohno working on quite a special work.
He came to The Netherlands to participate on the exhibition WAD Sculptures in Delft. As his participation was ready, he was asked or it was his idea, I don't know, to reinterpret some portrait paintings made by children and make them three dimensional in wood.
I show here the beginning of this process. I am sure that he is going to obtain a great result with the 6 busts of politicians of the town of Delft he is making using the children's portraits.
The exhibition WAD Sculptures will be opened together with my solo show on 12 September in Delft.


One of the paintings by Yessin Nonkes de Prez.

Photographs of the politicians source of the children's portraits.
Photos ©Marisa Polin

Balkenende chooses a Polin

On the television program Stars on canvas / Sterren op het Doek, the Dutch prime minister chose the portrait I made of his to take home from the three portraits offered by the artists: Maarten Welbergen, Raymond Huisman and Marisa Polin.
Interview: Hanneke Groenteman.
The program will be retransmitted on Friday 16 July 2010, 14:35 hours, on Nederland 2 television.
Direct to see the program





Photo's Roy Beusker, Eye2Eye and Marisa Polin

Painting Jan Peter Balkenende

The soon to leave minister president of The Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende is portrayed by the artists Marisa Polin, Maarten Welbergen en Raymond Huisman on the first program of this season's Sterren op het Doek. The presentator Hanneke Groenteman interviews artists and premier.
First the artists meet the talkative and enthousiast Minister President at the Catshuis. where they start to paint. After one week each of the artists are visited at their studios. At the end of the program at Gemeente Museum of The Hague, the Minister President Jan Peter Balkenende chooses one of the three paintings that is kindly given for free by each one of the artists. The two paintings that are not chosen will be auctioned on internet. The amount gathered will be given to: Stichting Pallieter in Capelle a/d IJssel.

To see which portrait is chosen you can see the TV program on Tuesday 13 July at 21.20 hours on Nederlands 2 television channel.

Minister president Jan Peter Balkenende, artist Maarten Welbergen, artist Raymond Huisman, presentator Hanneke Groenteman and artist Marisa Polin at the Catshuis where the first session of the portraits was filmed.

More girl portraits.

Janneke Laheij at Galerie Stevens
See also Kiki Lammers, Katinka Lampe.

What is it about portraits?

Is there something special about portraits now in The Netherlands? Are they "socially acceptable" again?

In any case we must notice that there has been, between February and March 2010, 4 openings of contemporary portrait exhibitions in Dutch museums by Dutch artists. Two solo and two group exhibitions.
The two solo exhibitions may be a bit confusing as both artists Kiki Lamers (1964) and Katinka Lampe (1964) not only have the same initials, have nearly the same age, the openings were within a week of difference but more important, they are both portraying children with this mysterious halo in a pastel like palette.
The exhibition at Museum the Fundatie has been so successful that it had been extended and the book is sold out with the 2nd edition being ready the coming days.
I missed the exhibition in Gorcum, but I think there the concept of portrait has been used in a broad sense, including faces that are not necessary portraits.

Katinka Lampe at Kunsthal Rotterdam 13 March - 30 May 2010
also RONMANDOS gallery Amsterdam - Amsterdam 17/4/2010 - 29/5/2010 :



Kiki Lamers at Centraal Museum in Utrecht 6 March - 22 August 2010
also at Annet Gelink Gallery / The Bakery - Amsterdam 13/3/2010 - 17/4/2010:



Portraits Now (Portrettisten Nu) at Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle at their annex Kasteel Het Nijenhuis in Heino extended until 24 May 2010:
Sam Drukker

Bianca Berends

Marisa Polin

and
Marike Bok / Piet van den Boog / Erik Bosma /Annemarie Busschers / Dora Carpentier / Daan van Doorn / Jacque Gregoire / Ellen de Groot / Jurriaan van Hall / Annelies Hoek / Erik de Jong / Matt Kissingh / Judith Krebbekx / Dorine Kuiper / Judith Lansink / Urban Larsson / Frank Leenhouts / Marjolein Menke / Ab de Nijs Bik / Eva Ooms / Stijn Rietman / Joop Rubens / Roderik van Schaardenburg / Ans Schumacher / Dick Stapel / Janneke Viegers / Robert Vorstman

Portretten van de 21e eeuw in Gorkums Museum, The Netherlands.
Already closed on 11 April with works of:
Philip Akkerman

Bas Meerman

Wouter van Riessen

Paul van Dongen

and

Silvia B. / Loréne Bourguignon / Hendrik Elings / Ruud van Empel / Gert Germeraad / Anouk Griffioen / Wim Hardeman / Yin Jun / Anja Kok / Bastienne Kramer / Katinka Lampe / Hans Meertens / / Lique Schoot / Petra Slager / Joost van den Toorn / Marli Turion / Levi van Veluw / Barbara Wijnveld / Efrat Zehavi

See also

Portraits, it must be in the air

Gorkums Museum, The Netherlands.
From 20 February until 11 April an exhibition of contemporary portraits: paintings, drawings and sculpture of 23 artists.

Philip Akkerman
Silvia B.
Loréne Bourguignon
Paul van Dongen
Hendrik Elings
Ruud van Empel
Gert Germeraad
Anouk Griffioen
Wim Hardeman
Yin Jun
Anja Kok
Bastienne Kramer
Katinka Lampe
Bas Meerman
Hans Meertens
Wouter van Riessen
Lique Schoot
Petra Slager
Joost van den Toorn
Marli Turion
Levi van Veluw
Barbara Wijnveld
Efrat Zehavi

The castle and the portraits

All in style for Jacque Gregoire's.

The girls by Marisa Polin and Ellen de Groot.

Entering the castle.

Elco Brinkman opening the exhibition
Portraits Now (Portrettisten Nu)
Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle at their annex Kasteel Het Nijenhuis in Heino, The Netherlands from the 30th of January through 18th April 2010.

Ralph Keuning director of the Museum de Fundatie, artist Janneke Brinkman, art historians and authors of the book: Harriet Stoop-de Meester and Cathinka Huizing and Chriestie's' Joop Ubbens.

The public: 500+ persons.

The press.

Elco Brinkman receiving the first book Portraits of portrait painters (Portretten van Portrettisten) from the authors Cathinka Huizing and Harriet Stoop-de Meester.

Seems a conversation with Bianca Berends' painting.


Marisa Polin works with a chocolate background

A second The Hague artist in the chocolate room:Marike Bok showing actor Chiem van Houwelingen.

The huge Wim Pijbes painting staring in the main hall by Annemarie Busschers.

Queen Beatrix: lonely at the top by Roderik van Schaardenburg

Ellen de Groot 2x in a slightly renaissance ambiance.


Judith Lansink's

Roderik van Schaardenburg girl and baby.

Stijn Rietman


The photographer surprised at being photographed next to Dorine Kuiper's

Another two girls by Marjolein Menke.

Two women.

Again two girls, this time by Bianca Berends

Joop Rubens', Annemarie Busschers' work.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Madelein Allbright et al by Janneke Viegers

The children in between Dick Stapel's and Ab de Nijs Bik's paintings

A back's portrait.

The table and the canvas. Sam Drukker

Frits Bolkestein by Jurriaan van Hall

Two real girls next to a portrait of a girl by Robert Vorstman

Ans Schumacher.

At a cozy corner and in an old fashioned atmosphere: Erik de Jong.

More info and photos: Trendbeheer and Dutch portraits now.