DUTCH VIEWS & LIGHT AND LANDSCAPE – LIGHT AND LANDSCAPE IN THE ART OF THE NORTH
Our spring exhibition 2025, “Light and Landscape,” is dedicated to the influence of light and landscape formations in northern Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark on the region’s artists. It comprises two sections:
Part I – Cooperation between creative artists from Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein.
Part II – DUTCH VIEWS & LIGHT AND LANDSCAPE: for the first time, a male and a female artist from the Netherlands were invited.
As part of the exhibition section “Dutch Views,” Kunst für Angeln e.V. presents artworks by Maritta Hobe-Gelting and Gert Hein de Visser – both from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The works of these two artists have never before been exhibited together.
Maritta Hobe-Gelting and Gert Hein de Visser – two Dutch artists in Angeln whose art couldn’t be more different. One is inspired by the light and nature of northern Schleswig-Holstein, and was shaped in childhood by the paintings of the Old Masters of her Dutch homeland. The other is consistently driven by societal structures and his emotional world. His “landscapes” take the form of cartographic structures, clearly reflecting the immense time and precision he devotes to them.
With the exhibition “DUTCH VIEWS & LIGHT and LANDSCAPE – LIGHT AND LANDSCAPE OF THE NORTH IN ART,” the association Kunst für Angeln e.V. celebrates, in 2025, the thousand-year-old connection between the Netherlands and Schleswig-Holstein through art.
Featuring works by a Dutch female artist and a Dutch male artist, both of whom – independently – were shaped by the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, one through formal study, the other through mentoring. Both are now based in Angeln: she in Gelting, he in Schnarup-Thumby.
We ask the question:
“Are these two Dutch artists inspired by the light and nature of their homeland? Influenced by the famous landscape paintings and portraits of the Dutch Old Masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Van Gogh, van Ruysdael, Frans Hals – to name just a few?”
In one case, the answer is “Yes, partially,” in the other, a clear “No.” And this creates an intriguing tension that will become evident as their works are placed in dialogue with each other in the exhibition.
The term “Dutch Masters” was originally chosen to highlight the extraordinary talent of Dutch painters. The name underscores their masterful perfection and undisputed influence on art history.
Maritta Hobe-Gelting is deeply influenced by this legacy – Gert Hein de Visser, by contrast, not at all. After their studies, both followed their own unique artistic paths.
Ingrid Roosen-Trinks, Chair of Kunst für Angeln e.V., says:
“The works of Maritta Hobe-Gelting and Gert Hein de Visser are not only striking in contrast and a true discovery, but it’s also a great honor to be able to exhibit their artworks publicly for the first time here at the Wittkielhof.
Our association Kunst für Angeln e.V. not only brings art to everyone who lives, works, or studies in Angeln, but also supports regional artists.
It will be exciting for all visitors to discover the Dutch influences in Maritta Hobe-Gelting’s paintings and drawings and compare them with the dialoguing works of Gert Hein de Visser and pieces from the contemporary Roosen-Trinks collection.
We want to shed light on both artists’ work as historical events and highlight the contrasts.”
Maritta Hobe-Gelting:
“As a child and young adult, I painted with passion and frequency. After studying aerospace engineering in the Netherlands, I went on to study painting in Munich. My father, alongside a successful career in aviation and business, was a talented painter and supported me in my artistic pursuits.
Here at Gelting Castle, I have a studio – though in recent years, I found little time to paint. I didn’t think I’d return to painting seriously or exhibit again. But through my connection with Kunst für Angeln, I felt inspired to take up painting more intensively.
When I was approached with the idea of contributing works to an exhibition – along with a second exhibition request – I was motivated to get started again!”
Gert Hein de Visser:
“My strongest connection to Dutch and Flemish painters comes from my childhood, as I grew up in a painter’s neighborhood. Vermeer, Van Gogh, Potter, Steen, and Rubens were ever-present. I even lived on a street named after ‘Josef Israëls,’ a relatively unknown master.
Although Vermeer’s paintings fascinated me and Van Gogh’s life inspired me, my idols during art school were Dix, Klimt, and Schiele.
My inspirations have never been shaped by light, but rather by social issues or my inner emotional world. My ‘landscapes’ are painted in the form of cartographic structures.
If there is a connection between me and a Dutch artist from the past, it would be Piet Mondriaan, as we come from the same city – Amersfoort.”
To what extent are artists inspired and shaped by the light and landscapes of northern Schleswig-Holstein?
How does the light and landscape of the North influence their artistic work today?
The exhibition “DUTCH VIEWS & LIGHT and LANDSCAPE – LIGHT AND LANDSCAPE OF THE NORTH IN ART” presents – alongside the works of the two Dutch artists – the results of a collaborative creative project on this theme, featuring new works by artists from Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark in collaboration with artists from the Roosen-Trinks Collection and the Sønderborg Art School.
Curated by Thomas Lunau and Ingrid Roosen-Trinks
ARTIST INFO:
Maritta Hobe-Gelting, born in 1947 in the Netherlands, grew up in the artist village of Bergen, NL.
1967–1972: Studied at T.U. Delft
1972–1975: Painting / mentored by Dirk Vis, painter and director of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam
1976–1978: Life drawing with Professor Krieger at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts
Lives and works in Gelting/Angeln
Gert Hein de Visser, born in 1964 in the Netherlands, visual artist from Amersfoort, NL
Studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam
His art conceptually addresses contemporary issues
He has lived in Berlin, Kolkata, and Portugal
Since 2017, he lives and works in Schnarup-Thumby/Angeln