Interview with collector Joan Dik

Artland magazine special edition featuring 14 Dutch art collectors

Collecting art is a personal journey which each collector navigates differently. However, all have one thing in common: the joy of sharing the fruits of their journey with likeminded.

To bring some of these captivating stories to life we have compiled fourteen interviews with Dutch art collectors, whom are all different but equally passionate about sharing their personal collector journey.

Meet Joan Dik!

Name: Joan Dik
Location: Amsterdam
Started collecting in year: About 14 years ago
Number of artworks in collection: 6

Name of collection: The Djoonie Collection         

 As an art collector, Joan Dik is motivated by the idea of creating a little piece of history through her collection. A collection that reflects the time in which she lives and her specific interests, serving as a legacy for her descendants.

Photos by Saffron Pape

What is your earliest memory of art, and what led you to start collecting it?

I remember being to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam when I was eight. I went there with my parents, but I didn’t pay any attention to the art, rather I had my eyes fixed on a fascinating drag queen who was visiting the museum as well.

What is the main motivation behind your collecting?

For me, it is a question of creating a legacy of my interest during my life, so that my descendants will be able to better understand the period in which we lived.

Is there a unifying element in your art collection?

I mainly collect photos.

Is there a piece in your collection you have a particularly strong attachment to?

Yes, a work called ‘Web’ by Carli Hermes.

How important is it for you to meet the artist behind the artwork?

It is not really that important to me, but I have to say that if the artists have bad intentions or strong specific opinions about things I don’t sympathize with, I will not buy their work.

Describe your collection in three words

Photos. Young. Shocking.

Three pieces of advice for new collectors

1. Buy what you love and do not buy with speculation ambitions

2. Keep in the back of your mind that you are creating a little piece of history through your collection

3. Enjoy supporting artists and keeping the creativity alive

Top three art destinations

Amsterdam, New York, and Berlin.

Three artists to watch

Erwin Olaf and Chris Berens.

The art world is booming with art fairs all around the world. Are you a regular art fair goer?

Last year I went to NADA and Independent in New York, Frieze in London and Art Dusseldorf where I bought this irresistible man with a horseface, painted by Katherine Bradford, standing with his feet in water. However, the water could also be a stage with curtains on each side. As Peter Schaffer once wrote: “That’s what his stare has been saying to me all this time: ‘At least I galloped – when did you?” No one can paint a starry night or a water surface as sparkling and vivid as Katherine Bradford. Her color palette is amazing, lucent and deep, as if she is Mark Rotho’s unknown and cheerful little niece. On canvas, Rose Wylie is a daredevil, reckless and daring, so cool and so disarming. Even blindfolded she would hit the bull’s-eye. At her age, maybe only Matisse was that good. It is almost unbelievable to me that both Katherine Bradford – who turns 76 this year – and Rose Wylie –who will turn 84 – have been discovered and embraced by the art world that late in their careers. Justice after all! They both should be included in every museum that matter. Ladies and gentlemen curators, get awake and do your job! The elderly girls have the future and nothing but the future. Hell, they are still young. They are free and have a God-given talent. Only they know how much hard work it took to get where they are now. Let the sun shine in! To hell with everything else.

How is the online art market evolving according to you?

I do not know that much about the online art market. What I can say is that Instagram changed the art world. It made the world a village. It is the perfect dating site. The place to be. To like or to be liked. That is the question. But being online is just an entrance. Seeing a work in real life is essential and meeting the artist who made the work is even better.

In your opinion, what is the role of an art collector in the making of art history?

Ask me again just before my last breath.

Where do you think the future of the art world is headed?

It will always be a flying circus, with lion tamers and tightrope walkers, but in the end, nothing is left but beauty. I do think that painting has never been more vivid and significant then right now.

Describe your collection in three words

Playful. Alive. Kicking!

Top three pieces of advice for new collectors

1. No guts, no glory.

2. Do not act like a herd animal.

3. If you do not know where you are going, any road can take you there.

Top three art destinations

New York, London, and A Place I Have Never Been Before.

Three inspiring artists to watch

Louis Fratino, Grace Metzler, and Frederik Næblerød. May I add Pierre Knop, Shaun Ellison and Ryan McLaughin as well? 🙂