One week ago the exhibition Zilverkunst in Nederland (Silver Art in The Netherlands) opened in the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. The hall was packed with people, all, in one way or another, connected with this relatively new art form. Annabelle Birnie, director of the Drents Museum, gave the opening speech.
The exhibition will run for four months, 16 April to 21 August 2016.
For more information visit www.gemeentemuseum.nl/tentoonstellingen/zilverkunst
The exhibition is a unique event. Never before has there been an exhibition with work of contemporary Dutch silversmiths in a national museum. It involves around 150 works by 40 artist silversmiths and designers.
Along with the exhibition a book has appeared describing the period of the last 25 years, in which what we now call 'silver art' has come alive and is thriving. It provides an insight into this development accompanied by a great number of photographs. Publisher: Uitgeverij Waanders. You can buy a copy in the Museumshop.
What more can we do than strongly recommend a visit to this beautiful exhibition? It is so in place in this museum, which has an unrivalled collection in size and quality of The Hague silver and a unique collection of silver from the age of the Dutch East India Company. At the same time the museum is well known for its exhibitions in the field of arts and crafts.
Also, Jan and Anneke van Nouhuys feel a strong tie with this city, as this was the place where Jan set out as a silvermith in 1976, and worked for more than a decade.
Then, the museum itself is a work of art. The masterly architecture by Berlage welcomes you, and once through the entrance, the first three rooms seem to light up and sparkle : silver !
