Daan Van Golden at Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam

Daan Van Golden - The Original

A checkered tea towel, a piece of wrapping paper, an image in the newspaper or a blurry photo. For painter Daan van Golden (1936-2017) these are not meaningless images, but serious subjects for his art. With great concentration he paints the existing patterns or discovers the beauty in the chance moments that he captures with his camera. This makes Daan van Golden one of the most idiosyncratic artists the Netherlands has ever known. The exhibition Daan van Golden. The Original in Stedelijk Museum Schiedam provides an overview of his special oeuvre. On display are the meditative paintings that made Van Golden world famous, in addition to the many photos, collages and graphic work that are often inextricably linked to it. The concept of originality takes on a whole new meaning: no longer creating something new is the priority, but seeing the beauty in what is already there.

Van Golden as Schiedam hero

The museum celebrates the life and work of Daan van Golden as one of the highlights in the year in which Schiedam celebrates 750 years of city rights. Van Golden lived and worked in Schiedam for most of his life and this anniversary year offers the museum the perfect opportunity to honour the artist as a 'Schiedam hero'. The exhibition is also prompted by the acquisition of the work Untitled (Tokyo) from 1964. This summer, the Schiedam Vlaardingen eo Fund purchased this painting for a long-term loan to the museum. Director Anne de Haij: 'It is a key work within Van Golden's oeuvre that − after having been in the family for a long time − is now being preserved for the Dutch public.' In addition to Untitled (Tokyo), 1964, an abstract expressionist painting from 1961 and four double-print works from 2012 were also purchased for the museum by the Schiedam Vlaardingen eo Fund.