Best Contemporary Art Galleries
Magnus came here from Sweden with the naïve intention of studying art for a year. A dozen years on he's still here, and considers the Amsterdam art world his home away from home. In his own work he deals with how memory affects our perception of the world. He gets inspiration from cats, Indians and riding trains. Magnus is our guide to this city’s multi-faceted array of visual culture.
Amsterdam's contemporary art scene
The spider in Amsterdam’s contemporary art web and the city’s only museum for modern art; the Stedelijk Museum, is currently going a very long revamp and is scheduled to re-open in April 2010. Thus, followers of the very latest trends in art would have to walk over to De Appel Contemporary Art Centre at… wait a minute. They’re closed until 2010 too! Although both the Stedelijk and De Appel have organised a fantastic range of exhibitions in other locations, there is also a thriving gallery scene in almost every area of Amsterdam waiting for you to discover.
The Jordaan
Sure, this picturesque part of town has its own music genre and has the Anne Frank Huis, but it also houses most of the city’s cutting edge art galleries.
Here you can find established galleries Diana Stigter, Annet Gelink and Fons Welters as well as younger enterprises like Gabriel Rolt, Motive Gallery and Martin van Zomeren.
Stedelijk Museum is not in total hibernation though; its project gallery SMBA operates from Rozenstraat, in the heart of Jordaan.
Oostelijke Handelskade
When Paul Andriesse moved from Jordaan he set up shop in the warehouse district along the waterfront just east of the Centraal Station.
Andriesse is arguably the top dog in Amsterdam with household names Jean-Marc Bustamante, Marlene Dumas and Thomas Struth on his rooster.
With Andriesse blazing a trail a few more galleries soon followed suit. Now one can also find 2x2 Projects, Gist and Art Affairs in close vicinity.
Lijnbaansgracht and De Pijp
A bit off the beaten path along the Lijnbaansgracht you'll find a hub of six interconnected galleries. The audience here appears a bit more “mature” and maybe less hip than its rival area Jordaan. This particular phenomenon has always remained an enigma to me, since quality artists Dennis Adams, Robert Barry, Ryan McGinness and Shirin Neshat all have representation here. Not far from here, in De Pijp, are two galleries showing up-and-coming talent; Juliette Jongma and the recently relocated Upstream Gallery.
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