Robert
50 cm x 70 cm, oil on linen, 2026
Robert and I first crossed paths at Kunst aan Tafel, at a different community centre. In early June he messaged me to ask if I’d like to exhibit in the Buurtkamer, and when I said yes, he invited me round for dinner on a Friday. That happened on the 19th of June.
Besides enjoying a lovely meal, it was great fun meeting and talking to Cocky, Luciano, Adèle, Damia and Joke, all from the neighbourhood. I found myself looking at their faces… So when Robert asked, two hours later, what kind of paintings I was planning to hang here, I said, without really thinking: “All of you!”
That meant I had to get a move on. So the very next day I sent everyone my plan and invited them to come and sit for me at my studio in Diemen. Robert was the first to sign up. “Afternoons only, though. I’m a night owl; I sleep mornings.”
Robert looks around as he steps into the studio, taking the measure of the place. He studies the paintings dotted about and hung on the walls with quiet attention. It sounds odd, but hardly anyone does that.
“Mind if I smoke? It’s nice and high-ceilinged in here, isn’t it?” Sure, I tell him.
