The Finish of an Establishment

Rob Koudijs’s current passing additionally introduced an instantaneous finish to the eponymous gallery’s 17-year existence. One more gallery for up to date jewellery has disappeared.

A number of the gallery’s artists who knew him properly helped me paint an image.

The final pop-up
In 2022 Koudijs had already bid farewell, as a consequence of the COVID years, to his acclaimed area on Elandsgracht, in Amsterdam. He continued promoting from house, in Haarlem, at artwork festivals, and through pop-up weekends. These pop-ups, set in stunning historic places, every introduced two artists: Beppe Kessler and Ralph Bakker within the Luthermuseum, in Amsterdam; Daniel Kruger and Bettina Speckner in Teylers Museum, in Haarlem; and, in June 2024, Helen Britton and Marion Blume within the stately rooms of a chamber of rhetoric in Haarlem.

That weekend, Britton and Blume witnessed Koudijs, who they knew as a person of boundless vitality, having reminiscence issues. He had but to be identified with a malignant mind tumor. Unintentionally, that was the final present. Terhi Tolvanen and Koen Jacobs’s exhibition, scheduled only some months later in yet one more historic Haarlem city palace, was canceled.

A Room for New Jewelry
Koudijs was in social work when he first encountered artwork jewellery within the sales space of Galerie Marzee on the KunstRAI artwork honest. The story goes that, earlier than he knew it, he wasn’t solely admiring the jewellery within the sales space, but in addition promoting the items! Lengthy story quick, he assisted Marzee in the course of the festivals for years. After that he turned associate in Amsterdam jewellery gallery Galerie Louise Smit whereas nonetheless working the opposite half of the week as a therapist in an assisted dwelling program.

When their 10-year partnership ended abruptly, Koudijs determined to open his personal gallery in the identical metropolis. Britton remembers that separation as painful, virtually “like when your mother and father cut up.” In 2007 the gallery turned a actuality: Galerie Rob Koudijs, Room for New Jewelry. Koudijs continued to do what he favored greatest: have interaction with younger, worldwide artists and promote the artwork type that excited him so.

Care and readability
Some Louise Smit artists joined, particularly after Smit closed her doorways. Beppe Kessler was considered one of them. She has fond reminiscences of the substantial conversations about her items with Rob and his life associate, Ward Schrijver. “Ward targeted on the architectural aspect and Rob zoomed in on the small particulars,” she says. Though they have been working a enterprise, the gallerists held their artists in excessive esteem, says Kessler. For instance, they threw a cocktail party on the gallery’s tenth anniversary and invited solely their artists, not their clientele.

The store on Elandsgracht had a important area and smaller half close to the store window, known as the Entrance Room.

With Schrijver’s skills because the designer of the area and the gallery’s furnishings, it comes as no shock that Ralph Bakker describes him because the silent pressure behind the jewellery shows. Aside from a inexperienced wall behind the desk, the inside of Galerie Rob Koudijs was white and spare. Bakker favored how “it was impartial and gave area to the works.” However the gallery welcomed wild initiatives in presentation, too, like Jantje Fleischhut’s frozen meals containers, Ted Noten’s loud “sale” indicators, and Célio Braga’s set up of indifferent wood drawers.

Deep care additionally seems within the introductory texts Schrijver wrote for exhibits, and within the on-line catalogs Koudijs began creating throughout COVID.[1] Schrijver was additionally behind the publications documenting the gallery’s work at years one, two, and 5. In 2017, for its 10-year anniversary, the gallery issued Of Issues and Life. The e-book not directly conveyed Schrijver and Koudijs’s enthusiasm for the artists within the gallery by describing how they fell in love with sure items of their private jewellery collections.

The years have been full of new exhibits each six weeks, e-book launches, lectures, and presence at KunstRAI, PAN Amsterdam, Gather London, and different off-site occasions. The gallery promoted them on its immaculate web site. Terhi Tolvanen would seek the advice of it together with her college students in Limoges, I’ve used it as a reference many instances, and we absolutely will not be the one ones. Let’s hope this treasure trove keep on-line. The web site has now develop into an archive of its quite a few artists and exhibitions. The pictures of vigorous openings—discovered beneath the heading “Impressions”—function a time capsule and are nice enjoyable to take a look at.[2]

A assured eye
Galerie Rob Koudijs by no means had a sales space throughout Munich’s annual Schmuck week. The gallerists have been in attendance, although, to fulfill prospects and set up new contacts. Paul Adie studied in Munich and remembers Koudijs as a fast decision-maker. He noticed the artist’s work, purchased a bit, and invited Adie to exhibit with the gallery immediately. “The factor that made Rob stand out was his risk-taking,” says the maker. Even now, with way more expertise, he doesn’t know many gallery homeowners prepared to try this. Koudijs was all the time instantly when Adie had new work coming off the bench. “And when it modified dramatically, he thought that that was incredible, too,” continues Adie. That enthusiasm was not and not using a vital eye. When Adie’s brooch pins wanted to be sharper, Koudijs advised him so.

Tolvanen and I talked on the day the opening of her pop-up with Koudijs was initially scheduled. She stated that Koudijs caught together with his fast selections, and he was often confirmed proper. Tolvanen’s begin, for instance, was a solo present on the KunstRAI Honest, with Galerie Louise Smit. She was proud to see her title in massive letters on the sales space wall. However she solely bought one piece, priced at €130. Koudijs didn’t blink an eye fixed. The following Tolvanen exhibition was an enormous success and bought out virtually fully. Tolvanen remains to be grateful for Koudijs’s unconditional confidence and assist.

Friendships, belief, admiration
Koudijs and Schrijver maintained heat ties with their artists and their purchasers. The very first thing that involves the American collector Susan Beech’s thoughts when she thinks of Koudijs is “hugs, heat welcoming hugs.” Each time they have been in the identical metropolis, any metropolis, they tried to have dinner collectively. A few of Beech’s favourite jewellery items are “from Rob.” She is at the moment donating a part of her assortment to museums. However she will be able to’t half with a favourite Evert Nijland brooch she purchased from Koudijs.

Helen Britton’s reference to Koudijs dates again to the Louise Smit years. When he acquired to know her work in Munich, he instantly began accumulating it. She remembers his enthusiasm gave her the sensation he believed in her.

This man Helen Britton known as her “artwork father” will likely be missed. This man who made Paul Adie sigh, “I want to be like him once I’m older, so good-looking and dashing, simply so elegant,” will likely be missed. The establishment Rob Koudijs will likely be missed. No extra in search of the distinctive inexperienced wall at artwork festivals. No extra being greeted by that broad smile as an invite to the jewellery he beloved so intensely.

In his farewell to his husband, Schrijver wrote “allow us to carry the reminiscences with us like a bit of bijou.” However any longer, new jewellery must discover area elsewhere.

Thanks to Paul Adie, Ralph Bakker, Susan Beech, Helen Britton, Beppe Kessler, and Terhi Tolvanen for sharing your reminiscences.

[1] See considered one of them right here.

[2] Go to the gallery’s web site, right here.

We welcome your feedback on our publishing, and can publish letters that have interaction with our articles in a considerate and well mannered method. Please submit letters to the editor electronically; achieve this right here.

© 2024 Artwork Jewellery Discussion board. All rights reserved. Content material is probably not reproduced in complete or partly with out permission. For reprint permission, contact information (at) artjewelryforum (dot) org