De Lorm was able to realize himself in the Laren museum, he says. “Singer and I fit together very well. It’s all about the human touch, it’s about encounters and coming home. That is Singer’s success: that people feel at home here.”
“How colorful you are!”, the striking director compliments a fashion-conscious visitor and immediately gives an art history lesson: “Look, for the painter Jan Sluijters it was all about color, this work is also so colorful, I understand that that appeals to you.”
One more blast
And now he’s retiring. The exhibition ‘1913, The Great Art Explosion’ is his farewell exhibition. For Jan Rudolph de Lorm, the theme was chosen perfectly: “My intention was not to end up like a soft fire that slowly goes out, but to explode one last time. Hence the title. To celebrate freedom and the expression of feeling in Singer, that is what we are about here.”
It is no coincidence that the Lorm chose the year 1913, the last free year in Europe, as the subject of the exhibition. The works of art are more current than ever. De Lorm: “We live in a time where 60 to 70 percent of people live in an autocracy and are not free. Artists often show us the way in these kinds of times of disaster.”
Dancing on the volcano
The paintings in the exhibition radiate zest for life and freedom: “I noticed that many of those stunning paintings date from 1913. What they did not know at the time is that an even bigger explosion would take place a year later, when the First World War broke out. Dancing on the volcano was a kind of last moment of freedom of expression.”
Support in difficult times
Over the past 17 years, Lorm has had highs as director, but certainly also lows. In 2020, a Van Gogh was stolen from the museum. “I remember that the ground sank under my feet. It was an extremely emotional day. The art world supported us enormously. That was heart-warming. In misery you also get to know your friends and it has also brought us further as a museum. Fortunately, the painting is back.”
The museum director looks back on 17 special years in which he was able to do exactly what he enjoys best: working from feeling. De Lorm: “Art is about feeling, you have to open your senses wide and dare to do so. I am very grateful that I can put an end to it with this exhibition.”
‘1913, The Great Art Explosion’ can still be seen until the new year. Jan Rudolph de Lorm has already said goodbye. He leaves in December.