From April 24 to June 3, 2018, Museum Jan van der Togt presented an exhibition of the three artists nominated for the 2018 Bernardine de Neeve Prize. The three contenders were Joost Bicker Caarten, Jan Doms, and Arnout Visser. They were nominated by an expert jury during the presentation of their work in the exhibition space of the Institute for Art and Craft (IKA) in Mechelen in 2017.
The Bernardine de Neeve Prize was established by the Association of Friends of Modern Glass and pays tribute to the first chief curator of decorative arts at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Ms. Bernardine de Neeve (1915-1996). The prize was created in 1990 to promote the artistic development of glass artists from the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2018, the prize was awarded to an artist with an innovative and surprising view of glass, in which glass as a visual material forms an essential part of the entire oeuvre. Important criteria for the jury were diversity in expression and glass techniques.
The nominees: the jury had the following to say about the nominees:
Joost Bicker Caarten "Surprising in its simplicity and combination of materials. Signs in space that optimally highlight the tension between form and material. Glass is used as a sculptural material, giving it its own logic. Signs in space, feather-light and strongly presented."
Jan Doms (winner) "A fascinating combination of glass and sound. An arsenal of resources is deployed to create space-filling installations that are necessary to make it exciting. Although the jury was not entirely convinced of the visual quality of this work, it was charmed by the 'different way of dealing' with the material glass. A fact that responded to the call."
Arnout Visser "Original, playful, authentic. Starting from a very basic approach, Visser creates compelling functional objects. Not dogmatically, but intuitively and usually without a plan. He immerses himself in a place and creates his designs on the spot with local artisans. The work brings a sunny smile to your face."