The Classics

Galerie Fons Welters is known for programming young artists, often at the start of their career. In the meantime, the gallery has been around for almost 35 years. We have been working with several artists for more than 20 years, and in some cases even more than 25 years. These artists are embedded in the program and are synonymous to Galerie Fons Welters. This exhibition celebrates Tom Claasen, Job Koelewijn, Maria Roosen, and Berend Strik by showing new and existing works.

Tom Claassen (1964, Heerlen, NL) creates sculptures with a wink to the depicted. His animal figures, such as the bronze chick in the exhibition, are always striking, just like other animal sculptures that you can encounter in public space–for instance, the concrete elephants along the highway in Almere. The Sitting Men are a smaller version of the well-known bronze sculpture that welcomes travelers at Schiphol Airport.

For Job Koelewijn (1962, Spakenburg, NL), reading as an act has become part of his daily practice in recent years. Since 2006, he has been reading out loud from books by and about among others Spinoza, Malevich and Sloterdijk, recording a side of cassette tape every day. In the Reliefs he makes the result visible and tangible by stacking the recorded cassettes on top of each other. Koelewijn also shows a new Collage / Storyboard. In this work he builds layers of newspaper clippings into a harmonious circular form to add tactility to literature.

Maria Roosen (1957, Oisterwijk, NL) explores shapes in glass and watercolor; both solidified movement and carriers of a flowing form. Roosen sees her sculptures as "Tools for Feelings". They are utensils meant to represent feelings. These feelings provide a stream of thought on topics such as growth, blooming, fertility, love and death. The creative process and craftsmanship are just as important to Roosen as the final result.

Berend Strik (1960, Nijmegen, NL) explores the meaning of images in his work. He subjects his photographs to an intensive process of reworking with fabric and thread. The stitched photographs slow down our view and strengthen both the image and the content. In partly covering up his subject, Strik constantly exposes various layers of meaning.

First solo exhibition at Galerie Fons Welters:
Tom Claassen: 1994 – Car Crash;
Job Koelewijn: 1996 – The World Is My Oyster;
Maria Roosen: 1996 – Jeuk;
Berend Strik: 1990 – Vliegenthart.