Remembering Jan Rozeboom
Remembering a friend and artist, the Association of Friends of Jan Rozeboom has been busily organizing a series of exhibitions celebrating the life and work of the late Dutch artist who loved Greece. While the first exhibition took place in Filiatra, in the Peloponnese, from August 5-18, the works are now on display in Athens at the Herakleidon, Experience in Visual Arts gallery as well as at the Dutch Institute. «Portraits and the People of Greece» is currently being showcased at Herakleidon and includes about 20 paintings and drawings, while «Greek Landscapes» is on at the Dutch Institute, featuring watercolors and drawings. Both shows run to September 19. Essentially, the exhibitions commemorate the 25th anniversary of the artist’s death. Born in the small Dutch city of Zutphen in 1945, Rozeboom studied at the School of Fine Arts in Arnhem. In the 1960s, the emerging artist followed the global craze for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and produced a series of portraits of the celebrated musicians. Up to 1970, the artist’s work was defined by its abstraction and expressionism, while a year later, he entered a period of experimentation. In 1974, Rozeboom established himself in Rotterdam, working on large-scale paintings with elements of realism. Two years later, however, he abandoned the city and moved to a farmhouse with his partner in life, Agnes Raben. In 1981, the couple traveled to Greece for the first time. Back in the Netherlands, Rozeboom created a series of works – acrylics, watercolors and drawings – of Greece, its landscapes and its people. They decided to return in the fall of the same year and rented a house in Filiatra. This is where in January, 1982, Rozeboom died suddenly of a heart attack. Herakleidon, 16 Irakleidon, Thiseion, tel 210.346.1981. For more information, visit www.herakleidon-art.gr. The Dutch Institute in Athens, 11 Makri, Makriyianni, tel 210.921.0760. Entrance to both exhibitions is free. For info, log on to www.nia.gr.
