News item | 28-01-2022 | 20:42
During an introductory visit to Paris today, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra offered his French colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian a work from the art collection of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on loan.
Artist Lotte Wierenga
The work ‘Bodily presence and ways of mark making #3’ by Dutch visual artist Lotte Wierenga can be seen in the reception room of Minister Le Drian during the French EU presidency. Conversely, the work ‘La Madeleine’ by Brodbeck & de Barbuat from the collection of the French ministry, this half year adorns the ministerial corridor of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague.
Importance of art and culture
With the art exchange, the Netherlands and France not only honor the good mutual understanding, but both countries also emphasize the importance of art and culture in international relations. Art also offers an opening to a conversation in diplomacy. The same applies to Wieringa’s painting. Not only because the large and colorful work in Paris hangs in a classic interior. The abstract visual language also arouses curiosity: Wieringa creates a reality in which everything is connected on an equal footing.
Atelier Néerlandais
Following the art exchange, the Dutch embassy in France is organizing an exhibition in May about the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ own collection and a debate between the curators of the French and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These last two activities take place at the Atelier Néerlandais, 121 rue de Lille, in Paris.