‘…And this gave me; I think it gave me; not just the knowledge of that medium and the specific period of time. But also the conviction, that if you put your mind to it, and take a little time—that in a year or two you’ll be a specialist too. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you cannot be a specialist; even if you haven’t studied something in previous years. You can always be a specialist.’
—Christi Klinkert
For the fifth episode of ‘Dutch Art & Design Today’, I sat down with Christi Klinkert, who is, since 2009, the Curator of Old Masters at the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, in the Netherlands. Under her tenure, the museum has increasingly staged innovative exhibitions, which often focus on topics or themes related to Alkmaar or North Holland in general. In this lengthy, nearly two-hour-long episode, we discuss her early love of the arts, and how she came to relay that passion into a dissertation on newsprints and propaganda in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We then discuss the biography and work of Allaert van Everdingen, and the exhibition she curated entitled: 'Allaert Van Everdingen: Master of the Rugged Landscape', which ran from 18 September 2021-8 May 2022.
In the second half of the episode, Christi and I step inside the exhibition space itself, and she explains its main ideas and key artworks; ranging from topics such as the show’s physical design to its installation; its inclusion of works by Dutch photographer Pascal Vossen; to the clustering of Allaert's works by themes and size. After leaving the exhibition space, we reflect on the catalogue that was produced by Christi and her team at the museum. Lastly, Christi lays out what's to come in the years ahead at the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, such as an exhibit on artist Maarten van Heemskerk, and another on slavery at a plantation named Alkmaar, named after the city; which recently opened at the museum, entitled: 'Plantage Alkmaar: Alkmaar in Suriname 1745-to Today', and is on display, until spring 2023.
You can find out more about the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar over on their website.
You can find John on Twitter You can find John on X @johnbezold and at his website johnbezold.com.
'Dutch Art & Design Today' is published by Semicolon-Press.
ISSN: 3050-6662