Dutch Art & Design Today

‘Language is so important, and particularly right now; especially when differentiating the Dutch Republic from the Southern Netherlands in the seventeenth century. I have found that when speaking to museum visitors, that they would often use the words Dutch and Flemish interchangeably; so I wanted to unpack this code art historians use—when we say Dutch or Flemish—and make this distinction front and center, in the gallery didactics, here in Chicago.' —Jacquelyn N. Coutré For the 18th episode of Dutch Art & Design Today, I sat down with Jacquelyn N. Coutré—an art historian, curator, and all-around fascinating academic of Dutch art and history. Since 2019, she has been the Eleanor Wood Prince Curator in Painting and Sculpture of Europe at the Art Institute of Chicago, in the USA. In 2015, and after completing her PhD at NYU, she moved to Canada, taking on the role of Agnes Etherington Curator and Researcher of European Art at the Etherington Art Centre in Ontario. There, she utilized her expertise in Lievens, mobilizing numerous paintings by the artist to curate 'Leiden Circa 1630: Rembrandt Emerges,' which ran from 24 August to 1 December 2019. Since her appointment at Chicago's Art Institute, she has curated several exhibitions, initiated a rehang of the Dutch and Flemish galleries, and expanded the collection she is responsible for, strengthening the historical background for visitors. In this conversation, Jacquelyn discusses her early-fascination with art, and how she found her way to Dutch and Flemish art in particular. During her research for her dissertation, she combined her interest in the literature, politics, and paintings produced during the Dutch Republic, by applying the writings of Constantijn Huygens to artistic production—leading her to become the world's leading authority on the life and work of Lievens. A Francophile since her childhood, her work in Canada left a profound impact on the ways that she approaches institutional nuances concerning the ways the past is viewed, which she unravels in our talk. To conclude, Jacquelyn talks about her plans for a future catalogue of highlights from the Art Institute's collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings and sculpture, relaying the importance of mapping the collection's formation, and the history of its curation. dutchartanddesigntoday.com

‘We are a very vibrant country; Curaçao. But we are so much more than these cliches that pervade in mainstream thought about the Caribbean. There’s real struggles here. Real injustice and economic disparity. And it has to do with our past. But a lot of progress has been made… My art seeks to show the average Curaçaoan; the fisherman at Playa Piskadó; Carnival; Tumba performers, who have their roots in African dance. The colonial past really does still impact us, daily. And so my work in AI tries to highlight those here who are—regular.' —Erica Obersi For the seventeenth episode of 'Dutch Art & Design Today', I sat down with Erica Obersi—a Curaçao-based artist renowned for her AI creations. Our paths first intersected in the vibrant web3 sphere, particularly within the close-knit Tezos blockchain community, a platform where Erica frequently showcases her art. Raised in Curaçao, Erica has always been keenly aware of the world beyond her country's borders. Her work in the tech realm led her to spend several years in New York City, working in the city's tech industry. Later, Erica returned to Curacao and continued to be involved in the local arts scene. She also enrolled in Tilburg University, where she recently completed a law degree. Erica's work with AI represents a fusion of her diverse interests, ranging from the spiritual—like the power of holy scriptures—to futuristic fashion and tributes to Swedish artist Hilma Af Klint (1862-1944). Her prominence in digital art and NFTs, particularly in the Dutch Caribbean, marks her as a pioneer in the field and one of the few digital artists in the region to gain international acclaim. In early 2023, Erica's talent was further recognized when she joined SuperRare, a leading digital art marketplace and auction house. In this hour-long conversation, Erica recounts her memories of visiting Amsterdam during her childhood and visiting the Rijksmuseum with her grandmother and grandfather, and how she was taken aback by coming face-to-face with Rembrandt’s Nightwatch. She then goes on the describe the culture and the international outlook of its people, to the world at large, while also discussing what the county's museum and cutural scenes entail, before spending time discussing the legacies Dutch colonialism brought to the island, both in the past and today. While her early work explored themes related to the people, culture, landscapes, and history of Curaçao; her more recent work incorporates themes of divinity-inspired digital fashion, ideals concerning social hierarchy, excess wealth, and how the latter can lead to envy and intrigue. To conclude, Erica talks about the importance of integrity in her work and beyond her art, such as why she finds it important, as an artist, to use her platform for good. dutchartanddesigntoday.com

‘Spinoza is a great portal to the Dutch Republic; because with Spinoza you have to look at Jewish Amsterdam in the seventeenth century. And if you start looking at Amsterdam in the seventeenth century, you’re drawn to the art. If you’re drawn to the art you become aware of the social and economic context. It’s really like looking through the looking glass. Once you’re in, you’re in.’ —Steven Nadler For the sixteenth episode of Dutch Art & Design Today, I sat down with Steven Nadler, who is a philosopher, a historian of philosophy, an all-around interesting academic, as well as a professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he is also the Director of the Institute for Research in the Humanities. Steven completed his BA at Washington University in St. Louis, and then returned to his hometown of Manhattan to complete his MA and PhD at Columbia University, where he wrote his dissertation on the French philosopher Antoine Arnauld. Steven has studied and written extensively on the history of philosophy in Early Modern Europe, particularly concerning Descartes and Spinoza. Over the years, a through line in his teaching and writing has been the seventeenth century as it relates to the Dutch Republic; for instance, concerning the stay of Descartes in the republic, and his interactions with politicians, thinkers, and artists, such as the painter Frans Hals. Steven also has an interest in the Jewish population of Amsterdam during the same time period, and in 2003, published a book titled Rembrandt's Jews, for which he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2004. In this hour-long discussion, Steven and I first revisit his move to the Midwest for his undergraduate degree, and then his return to New York City for his graduate and doctoral degrees, and what his student days were like in both locations. We then move on to talk about how his dissertation lead him to study Descartes, and the seventeenth century in general, and why he finds the era so fascinating from a philosophical point of view, and what was happening in Amsterdam and Haarlem, during this period of time. Steven then explains the methodologies that he uses to approach his work, and how they allow him to combine several figures and topics that interest him, in a way that makes his work accessible beyond those only interested in philosophy. We then zoom in on his books on Frans Hals, and how he used a well-known trove of archival documents, to wrap the biography of Hals around some of his more celebrated paintings, to write the first biographical study of Hals in Haarlem. To conclude, Steven explains how philosophy is useful to the world today, and how knowing it results in better choices, better ways of thinking which together leads to, as he puts it, "better living through philosophy".' dutchartanddesigntoday.com