It is a bit of a shock for visitors to the Stedelijk Museum in Meppel. Not only is art on display there, but art is also being made for a new exhibition. Resulting in a big mess.
“It’s chaos,” says curator Mieke Mulders with a laugh. “What you’re actually seeing here is the inside of the artist’s head. This is real action. We don’t know what this will look like next week, or next month.” The artist can let loose in the museum and is given complete freedom. “He also needs that. Otherwise he cannot work as he wants. We can say that it should not get dirty, but that is not possible. Fortunately, the floor is well covered.”
Artist Zhongnai Hashuury likes it. He feels completely at home in Meppel. “The museum and I have really become one”, says the originally Chinese painter, who had to get used to all the visitors who stroll around him. “But it feels more and more normal. I’m used to it and can now continue to work well, even if there is a lot of chatter around me.”
Blue socks are available for visitors, so that the shoes remain clean on the dirty floor. Visitor Jan van Os has already fallen in love with one of the works. Reaching for a painting: “This is an example to me of how incredibly expressive a painting can be, with minimal resources. This is just black paint with white streaks. A nice example of Zhongnai’s work. I would like this on the wall we’ll have to talk about that in a bit.”
Curator Mulders fully enjoys the noise in her museum. “Perhaps a little too much. The best thing about this profession is that you can visit the artist. And now I am constantly visiting! This makes me want more…”