Art Office

Renie Spoelstra's intense charcoal drawings draw you in, into her dramatic landscapes. Spoelstra travels and finds locations that can be far away, but that always have something familiar. The lockdown fell raw on her roof. Her solo exhibition at Galerie Ron Mandos was no longer visited by the public. An exhibition in France, which should have been the highlight that year, went ahead but did not attract any viewers. But worse was the fact that she couldn't travel.

Spoelstra: 'I choose a destination, walk around, film and draw. Then I work on my drawings based on those images and experience in the studio. I was stuck in the Netherlands, so I started looking around in my own environment. The problem with that was: that's how I started fifteen, twenty years ago. It felt like back to square one.'

Spoelstra was able to fall back on the images she had stored in her memory: 'You always take your eyes with you, the locations are in my head. I started collecting images of the reflection of trees. At the time, I had no definite plans to do anything with it. When it became known that it was possible to apply within PPR, my research started to take on serious shape. I approached the landscape of my environment in the same way I approach strange, new landscapes. And luckily it worked well. Several works have since been sold. But at that time I had no other sources of income. The subsidy did not create a gap.'

Was there another way in which the scheme provided an incentive?
'The idea that you are not abandoned as an artist kept me mentally going. The culture sector was at the bottom of the list of priorities during the pandemic.'

The PPR scheme provided relatively low amounts for applicants. Was that enough, should it have been different?
'The Netherlands has a solid subsidy system, it is well put together. In the Netherlands, the mentality is not that the general public is quick to purchase a work of art. In Belgium, the subsidy is less well regulated, but there are more people who buy art. In times of crisis, theater and art are put aside, but art and culture are of enormous importance in times of need. Not only for the maker, but also for the enthusiast, for the public. Modest subsidies are also important. It allowed me to move forward, although I didn't look beyond a season, while I normally plan for periods of several years. Fortunately, my work sold well at Art Rotterdam, once it was organized again. I liked that the PPR regulation did not place any substantive requirements on my work. I am not a project artist. Everything flows on, the works I made with the support of the PPR award fit seamlessly into my oeuvre.'

Has the corona period affected your work?
'My vertical drawings with the reflected trees have the zeitgeist in them. During the lockdowns and the curfew you experienced everything more intensely. That feeling may be individual, but it was also part of the period of the corona measures. It benefits my work. The gloom of the crisis is present in it, it is sad and beautiful at the same time. Despite the fact that my work is dark, there is always a bright spot in it. My work is not corona art. On paper you don't see that there was a crisis. I am now working on swamp landscapes. I saw them in Lithuania, but the landscape looked so much like the Netherlands, on a flooded part of the Veluwe. That focus on the nearby landscape is not over, but it continues to evolve in my work. Swamp has something spooky, something mysterious, such areas continue to intrigue me.'

How do you see the future of your professional practice?
'The art world is not yet at its old level. The future is uncertain. It's good that there is a basis: I have a studio, I can continue working. But it's only a small aspect of a whole way of life: openings, seeing exhibitions, meeting people, being part of a network. The basics, just surviving, is not enough. I was supposed to exhibit at the Louvre Lens, but that didn't happen. I had hoped that this exhibition would also lead to contacts with Parisian galleries. But they are also trying to keep their heads above water. For the time being, they are not accepting any new artists, for example.'

How important is the subsidy system as we know it today, with requirements, management and substantive assessments? Does it make sense for the artist, or could it also remain more accessible?
'The openness and the short processing time of the PPR scheme were very good. Such a temporary subsidy scheme was valuable. It doesn't really matter to me whether requirements are stricter or looser. CBK Rotterdam can use smaller subsidies to keep the engine going among the Rotterdam artists, to give them a boost.

Temporary work contribution PPR
Om to help artists during the corona lockdowns to keep their professional practice up CBK Rotterdam launched the Temporary Work Contribution Production, Presentation and Research (PPR) for visual artists who are registered with CBK Rotterdam. Divided into two rounds in 2020 and 2021, eventually received almost two hundred artists a contribution. The result of the temporary work contribution is bundled in a magazine in which we, together with a few artists, look back and look forward. This is one of fifteen interviews from the magazine.

Text: Machteld Leij
Photos: Mark Bolk