Looking back on 2017

The series I started at the very end of 2016, featuring postcards of paintings, was a response to the art climate of the preceding years. Politics wasn't favorable to the arts, and major budget cuts and a dismissive attitude didn't do it any favors. Artists were talked about in terms of "having to stand on their own two feet" and "a left-wing hobby." Museums received less funding, and their own income became increasingly important; even more commercial blockbuster exhibitions appeared, and the museum shop took on an increasingly important role. The result: "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" as a bookmark, "The Night Watch" as a refrigerator magnet, and the sale of many more trinkets and postcards. I've also had postcards printed of some of my works and have noticed that they sell much more easily than an actual painting. A postcard of a painting, however, is no substitute for an original artwork. Unless you paint that postcard again.

The title of the first painting refers to a statement from 2008 by then Minister of Culture, Ronald Plasterk: "But if they [artists] cannot make a living from creations that they themselves consider worthwhile, they can also choose to paint cows, for example, because there is a market for that." Just saying.

1. "You could paint cows," he said; acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm, 2017. The painting on the card is by Karel Buskes.

2. 'This is not a painting', oil on canvas, 30 x 30 cm, 2017

3. 'Most Wanted', oil on panel, 35 x 41 cm, 2017, courtesy of Vermeer

4. 'Don't we all just love Morandi?', oil on canvas, 40 x 70 cm, 2017

5. Where am I?, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm, 2017