Ossip Zadkine (1888-1967) drew inspiration from classical antiquity and nature. Myths and metamorphoses are central to his work. This summer and fall, Museum JAN in Amstelveen is dedicating an exhibition to this Russian-French artist, who is internationally renowned as the creator of the war memorial 'The Destroyed City' in Rotterdam.

In addition to a select group of sculptures that are typical of Zadkine's vision of art and artistry, a lesser-known part of his work is also on display in Amstelveen. With his expressive gouaches, lithographs, and etchings, Zadkine demonstrated an exceptional dual talent.

A wide selection of works by Koen Vermeule (Goes, 1965) will be on display at Museum JAN in the spring of 2025. Paintings and gouaches—many of which have never been exhibited before—that reflect his world, his perception, his view of the environment and the people in it. The images originate in everyday life. The cityscapes are often sharp observations of our own time and contemporary human behavior, while his landscapes are characterized by silence and timelessness. However, there is nothing ordinary about the works: they carry something universal and lasting, and often something elusive. "Ultimately, I want to say something about themes such as love, desire, life, death, contemplation, the passing of time. Music and the art of others, which I carry with me, also play a role in this," says Vermeule.

Museum JAN in Amstelveen presents the first solo museum exhibition by artist Boris de Beijer (1986). De Beijer graduated from the Rietveld Academy as a jewelry designer. Since then, he has developed an interdisciplinary practice in which his work moves between the functional and the autonomous. His main focus is on craftsmanship. De Beijer enjoys mastering new techniques and working with various materials. He created new work especially for Museum JAN, partly in collaboration with glassblowers from the Amsterdam glass studio Van Tetterode.

The exhibition "Otto B. de Kat and contemporaries - Jeanne Bieruma Oosting, Wim Oepts, Kees Verwey, and others" offers an overview of the highlights of De Kat's oeuvre. A selection of works by contemporaries who also attempted to capture "the soul of things" places his work in a broader perspective. Paintings by artists such as Jeanne Bieruma Oosting, Johan Buning, and Kees Verwey show that De Kat, although he had his own unique identity, was also part of a larger movement. While the Dutch avant-gardists were in a permanent state of revolution, the work of De Kat and his followers formed an equally strong and constant undercurrent. Regardless of time and place, this art possesses a universal eloquence that continues to inspire and move contemporary viewers.

This year, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the multifaceted artist Anton Heyboer (1924-2005). The graphic artist, painter, and illustrator became a living legend because of his eccentric lifestyle with five wives. In honor of this anniversary, Museum JAN presents the exhibition Anton Heyboer, featuring never-before-seen photo collages that depict Heyboer's life with his wives.

In the photographs of Lonneke van der Palen (1985), everyday objects play the leading role: from a cutlery holder, an unripe bell pepper, and a clothespin to a bottle of sunscreen or close-ups of body parts. Her photographs are rooted in reality, but never documentary. Van der Palen carefully selects her subjects and rearranges, enlarges, adds or removes elements, and filters out noise. She reduces the visible world to a purified essence. This results in compositions in which form, color, and light are deliberately interrelated. Although everything is staged, her images have a very realistic appearance.

With the anniversary exhibition 'Het Grotere Beeld' (The Bigger Picture), Museum JAN in Amstelveen is celebrating the 70th birthday of the creative artist Tjalf Sparnaay. More than 60 works from various museum and private collections offer a unique overview of his oeuvre: from his first illustrations for postcards to his latest food painting 'WasteScape', which is on public display for the first time. At Museum JAN, Sparnaay—internationally known and acclaimed for his iconic oil paintings of fried eggs and flattened cola cans—showcases the grandeur of the small. His hyperrealistic style captivates the viewer, who is immediately convinced of the power of his imagination. However, Sparnaay also shows that the photographic, objective approach to his subjects is indeed a personal source of inspiration.

From February 14 to June 16, 2024, Museum JAN will present an exhibition of the work of fashion designer and artist Lisa Konno (1992). For this first solo exhibition, Konno is creating new work in which she combines Japanese porcelain with textiles. In this work, Konno reflects on ideals of beauty in both Japan and the Netherlands and asks the question: when is the pursuit of beauty a liberating form of self-expression, and when does it turn into a form of oppression? A confusing boundary that is explored in a video installation and a series of objects that lie somewhere between clothing and sculpture.

Museum JAN presents an overview of the work of Jantien Jongsma (1965). A graduate of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, she became a master of storytelling using various techniques on paper. Her colorful work features a combination of embroidery patterns, painting techniques, and pencilwork, in which the focus is on the cycle of life.

Ted Noten is celebrating his 30th anniversary as a jewelry designer/artist this year. In honor of this, his work will be on display at Museum JAN from October 4, 2023, to February 4, 2024. Noten raises questions about the function of jewelry, including themes such as value, originality, and status. These themes are also reflected in his installations and performances, as well as in the work of both emerging and established artists represented in this exhibition.

Bernard Heesen (1958) is one of the most important and influential glass artists in the Netherlands. This year, he celebrates his 65th birthday. In honor of this, Museum JAN in Amstelveen is organizing a festive exhibition featuring work by Heesen himself, Nienke Sikkema (1988), and Josja Caecilia Schepman (1980). In addition to masterpieces from Heesen's oeuvre, Museum JAN is also showing recent, previously unexhibited work by all three artists.

Van Hövell tot Westerflier is a master of photographic stillness and natural light. Her portraits and still lifes are reminiscent of famous Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer and Clara Peeters, while her cityscapes evoke memories of the photography of George Hendrik Breitner and Jacob Olie. 'Painting with a lens' is a technique she masters like no other. She creates unique photographic images that transform the present into the past. On the occasion of her 70th birthday, her oeuvre, which occupies a unique position within contemporary Dutch photography, is being shown in its entirety for the first time.

The exhibition Piet Paris and Others - Illustrations, Glass Art, Fashion at Museum JAN showcases work by fashion illustrator Piet Paris. Piet Paris, pseudonym of Pieter 't Hoen (born 1962), responds with new work to the unique glass art collection of Museum JAN. His drawings are brought into dialogue with fashion designs by leading fashion designers such as Viktor & Rolf, Claes Iversen, Spijkers & Spijkers, and Benchellal. Glass, drawings, and fashion are presented side by side, revealing the basic principles behind each of Piet Paris' drawings: form, color, and symmetry.

To mark the centenary of Sam Francis's birth (1923-1994), Museum JAN is paying tribute to this American painter. The exhibition 'Homage to Sam Francis', on view from February 3 to May 21, 2023, shows a selection of Francis' work from our own collection, supplemented with special loans from art collector and Francis enthusiast Nico Delaive. Francis is often associated with Abstract Expressionism, a post-war American painting movement, but developed his own style after his introduction to European and Eastern (modern) art. Francis became known for his paintings with expressive colors in a 'controlled chaos' of spots, drops, lines, and brushstrokes.

In honor of the UN International Year of Glass, Museum JAN presents the exhibition Barbara Nanning – Moving Silence. The exhibition showcases the most recent work by glass artist Barbara Nanning (1957). In her three-dimensional sculptures, she always combines tradition and innovation.

Wim Oepts and the Painters of the Sunny South offers a comprehensive overview of the work of artist Wim Oepts (1904-1988) and his Dutch contemporaries. Oepts is a popular painter, known for his abstract, colorful landscapes. He found inspiration for his distinctive paintings full of contrasting colors in the sun-drenched south of France.

Museum JAN and the Cobra Museum of Modern Art present the art treasures of the municipality of Amstelveen in the exhibition 'Collected for Amstelveen – the municipal art collection'. Over the past 70 years, the municipality has built up a leading collection of visual art. This diverse collection is now being shown to the public for the first time and is accessible free of charge to all residents of Amstelveen.

Saskia Boelsums – Love for Landscapes is a retrospective exhibition that will be on display from July 1. This exhibition showcases picturesque landscapes, photographed and edited by artist Saskia Boelsums (1960, Amstelveen).

Hovers' designs surprise with their disarming simplicity and balance between functionality and aesthetics. His work is characterized by simple structures and industrial forms. He designs and creates furniture, lighting, toys, objects, and miniatures, and is probably best known for his ArcheToys, a series of miniature vehicles. All his works are the result of extensive reduction processes. "By leaving a lot out, you get to the essence; what remains must leave enough room for the imagination," says Hovers.

You can watch online or from a distance of 1.5 meters over the artist's shoulder and observe the creation of Jan Verschoor's new works. What are the creative processes behind his (bronze) sculptures? How does he perfect his plaster molds? Museum JAN offers the public a unique insight into the artist's creative process and the resulting works of art.

The exhibition Sam Drukker - Onderweg (On the Road) displays paintings and drawings by artist Sam Drukker, created between 2010 and 2021. In his work, he captures people in all their facets. Uncertainty, strength, beauty, and old age are visible in paintings in which the subjects appear to be in motion; sometimes consciously and sometimes uprooted, with an as yet unknown destination.

New works by the three artists nominated for the 'Bernardine de Neeve Award 2021' are on display at Museum JAN. The three nominees are Jenny Ritzenhoff, Judith Roux, and Nataliya Vladychko.

Museum JAN is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, we are organizing the anniversary exhibition Sparkling Glass - 30 Years of Museum JAN: an overview of the exceptional glass collection. A true celebration of diversity in technique, form, and color.

The emerging experimental art and design duo Rive Roshan seeks to enchant audiences with installations and objects that challenge them to view the world from a new perspective. For Museum JAN, they are creating three site-specific spatial experiences in which glass plays a surprising role.

The exhibition "In the footsteps of Jan Jansen - 60 years of shoes & Dutch design" showcases six decades of iconic work by shoe designer Jan Jansen, together with work by Dutch designers.

Surrealist artist Hans Kanters (1947) captivates audiences with his dreamscapes filled with fantastical creatures, painted with great precision and craftsmanship. The self-taught artist gained fame in the early 1970s with his painted fantasies. Without allowing himself to be limited by fashion, traditions, or dogmas, he chose his own path from the very beginning. Dreamscapes. Visions. Illusions. They all depict scenes that are hard to believe, yet believable. The exhibition at Museum JAN in Amstelveen is the first retrospective dedicated to the work of Hans Kanters.

Thom van Rijckevorsel (1977) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2019, after working in the advertising industry for more than fifteen years. He creates videos, drawings, sculptures, and installations in which he explores the relationship between constructed images and reality. How can you get a grip on a world in which physical and digital reality, matter and image, fact and fiction increasingly overlap?

Jan Cremer (1940) has been painting his adventurous life with words and brushes for some 65 years. From March 13, Museum JAN will be showing a large selection of monumental seascapes that Cremer has painted over the past ten years. These works have never before been presented together in an exhibition. "Cremer Northward 2010-2020" combines these recent canvases with photographs from his travels to Mongolia and Greenland, among other places.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997) is one of the most famous artists in American pop art. Lichtenstein created powerful enlargements on canvas and paper of images from comic books, advertisements, and famous modern paintings. The world-famous "Crying Girl" and "Still Life with Picasso" are examples of this. The bright colors and dot grid in his works refer to the commercial printing techniques of his time. The exhibition includes graphic works from virtually his entire career, from the 1960s to his Reflection Series from the 1990s.

The exhibition "Delicious Paintings" by Tjalf Sparnaay has been extended until March 1, 2020. The internationally renowned artist amazes audiences with his hyperrealistic paintings of extremely enlarged foods, such as a fried egg or a crispy salad sandwich. The paintings amaze and astonish the viewer with their extreme precision and craftsmanship. Sparnaay is also showing new photographs which, after being exhibited at the Bernarducci Meisel Gallery in New York in 2017, are now on display in the Netherlands for the first time. The exhibition offers a broad overview of Tjalf Sparnaay's surprising oeuvre, which is characterized by his original view of everyday things.