The Dutch and the Flemish share a common language, but the histories of the areas they live in are quite different.
Their minds are shaped differently by cultural, political and economic developments, by different landscapes and by different geographical contexts.
For the Dutch it seems easy to understand the Flemish, but there also seems to be something ununderstandable in the Flemish way of thinking or in the Flemish human condition.
The same can be said about Flemish art.
The Dutch usually have admiration for the sincerity, lyricism and spirituality in Flemish art, aspects that don’t immediately spring to mind when thinking about Dutch art.
In an earlier exhibition at Twelve twelve gallery Gert Scheerlinck already showed his very personal ways of seeing.
He addresses his audience in an almost private way, inviting you to come very near and to challenge your imagination.
There is a sense of absurdism in his works but they don’t deceive you, they are as honest as their simple materials.
For the present exhibition Scheerlinck was invited to put together a presentation of works by himself and by Flemish artists of his own choice.
This resulted in a small but wonderful show with mostly lyrical works by, apart from Scheerlinck himself, Nicolás Lamas, Johan De Wit, Rein Dufait, Katleen Vinck and Johan Gelper.
On one hand one would wish to see solo presentations of each, on the other hand this group show is a very well composed treasure-trove, circling around Vinck’s robust and marvellous Plano and even going underground in the dark of the gallery’s cellar.
© Villa Next Door 2018
Content of all photographs courtesy to all artists and to Twelve twelve gallery, Den Haag
Bertus Pieters
