AMSTERDAM.- Amsterdam's BorzoGallery is currently hosting a retrospective exhibition of the work of Dutch artist Ben Akkerman (1920-2010), on view from December 5th to 20th, 2024. The exhibition features paintings and drawings from across Akkerman's career, offering a comprehensive look at his artistic development.

Akkerman's artistic journey was a slow and deliberate one. He reportedly produced only a handful of paintings each year, focusing on achieving a level of satisfaction with each piece. This meticulous approach resulted in a relatively small body of work, a significant portion of which resides in prominent Dutch museums. Now, BorzoGallery brings together a selection of pieces from every phase of his artistic output. A fully illustrated catalog, featuring an essay by art historian Antoon Melissen, accompanies the exhibition.

Akkerman's move towards abstraction was grounded in his deep appreciation for classical painting. He held a particular admiration for the "transparent atmosphere" found in the 17th-century landscapes of masters like Jacob van Ruisdael and Jan van Goyen. This focus on transparency remained a key element in his own work, even decades later. Akkerman's early exposure to these artists came through visits to the Rijksmuseum Twenthe and, as a young man traveling from his hometown of Enschede, to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

From a young age, Akkerman demonstrated a passion for art, sketching and painting rural scenes: farms, watermills, and landscapes. A keen observer of the world around him, Akkerman was an avid walker, cyclist, and photographer. In the early 1960s, his fascination with "landscape elements" began to find expression in black and white photography. Images of decaying barns, the stark peat landscapes near Enschede, and the patterns of plowed fields became a visual archive that directly influenced his artwork, particularly his drawings from this period. The themes of reduction, suggestion, and association present in these early works continue to resonate throughout his career, even after his decisive shift to pure abstraction in 1973.

The year 1973 marked a significant turning point for Akkerman. Not only did he embrace pure abstraction, but he also formed important new connections that placed him within a broader international art scene. Key figures in this development included Edy de Wilde, the director of Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum; the artist Jan Dibbets, with whom Akkerman formed a friendship; and Geert van Beijeren of Amsterdam's influential Art & Project gallery.

Akkerman also played a role in nurturing the next generation of artists. From 1984 to 1992, he served as a mentor at the Haarlem Ateliers '63, which later relocated to Amsterdam and became known as De Ateliers.

This exhibition at BorzoGallery offers a rare opportunity to explore the full scope of Ben Akkerman's artistic vision, from his early representational works to his later abstract explorations. The exhibition sheds light on the development of an artist who quietly and thoughtfully carved out a unique space within the landscape of 20th-century art and is currently open for viewing.