In search of Ceramics – A Selection from Three Private Collections

Het Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen shows three collections of ceramics from the heritages of the gentlemen Frans Koster & Leen Quist, Ronald Kuipers en Abraham den Blaauwen.

The three collections shown in the exhibition are extremely different. Frans Koster (1925-2003) and Leen Quist (1942-2014) collected twentieth-century European ceramics. Ronald Kuipers (1958 – 2014) collected modern pieces, inspired by the beauty and violence of nature and social problems. Abraham den Blaauwen (1923 – 2015) was director of the department of Sculpture and Applied Art at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for many years. His collection is characterized by freer and more experimental forms.

What all three collections share in common is the collector’s quest for perfection. Each of them was in search of particular forms, colours and ideas that stimulated them. Just like these collectors, ceramicists are also in search of perfection. Through the systematic exploration of materials, studio ceramicists aim to develop the perfect form, accentuated or interrupted by the interplay of line and colour.

This exhibition features a selection from the three collections, showing the quest for perfection among the ceramicists and the collectors who acquired their works.