Neelie Kroes is a former Dutch politician and businesswoman who served as European Commissioner from 2004 to 2014. She previously held roles as Minister of Transport and Water Management, and she was the first woman in that role, setting a precedent for female ministers in the field. Since retiring, Kroes has remained active in the private sector. We have asked her to ‘star’ five works at the 37th edition of the PAN Amsterdam.

The central theme of Neelie's selection is minimalism. After all, minimalism brings you back to the essence, the core of life. Minimalist art is the opposite of boring, as you can continue thinking and fantasizing for yourself without being distracted. In fact, the viewer becomes the maker.  

1. At BorzoGallery (stand 36) Neelie selected Constructie in plexiglas (1960) by André Volten. This work tells a story, a story that a viewer may not see at a first glance. Your thoughts develop further and suddenly everything is possible.

2. At Dep Art Gallery (stand 73) Neelie selected 3 Ovali Rossi (2020) by Turi Simeti. This work shows a certain optical illusion and allows the viewer to fantasize further.

3. At Coppejans Gallery (stand 61) Neelie chose a work by Hans Kool, Nieuwe Lekkerland (1948). The artwork gives the impression of being impossible to stand upright. Gravity seems of no importance, which is emphasised by the minimalist design. The addition of organic forms leads the viewer all the more back to the essence.

4. At M. Simons Gallery (stand 63) Neelie selected the work Untitled (14-04) (2014-24) by Ido Vunderink. The neon colours immediately attract attention, but the white-coloured panels simultaneously bring a certain calmness. The work consists of three separate panels which, despite their individual character, together form a harmonious whole, which makes it extra intriguing.

5. At Galerie Roger Katwijk (stand 69) Neelie was immediately intrigued by Stargazer (2024) by Pieter Obels. This work has an irresistible attraction that makes you pause when you walk past it. Its power lies in its intense colour and intriguing use of materials. The tension arises from the contrast between the rough material and the graceful form.
 

Lonneke Gordijn is co-founder of the artist studio, DRIFT. Together with Ralph Nauta she creates large-scale and often moving sculptures for museums, public spaces and other locations around the world. In 2025 they will open Drift Museum in the van Gendt Hallen in Amsterdam. She focuses on the complex relationship between humans and nature. She explores how humans often view nature through a human-centric lens: at times projecting human qualities onto it, and at other times revealing how nature reflects human influences. This mutual dynamic serves as a central theme in her art. We have asked her to ‘star’ five works at the 37th edition of the PAN Amsterdam.

1. At Stone Gallery, The origin of Art (stand 53) Lonneke was amazed by a fragment of Pyrite from Spain. The work appears man-made, but these are natural forms. It’s fascinating to see how nature could create something like this. The interplay of elements makes it look as though it was crafted by human hands.

2. At Galerie Huub Hannen (stand 55) Lonneke selected Taraxacum II (2024) by Mirjam Abraas. This drawing reflects Gordijn’s perspective on the world. It emphasises the importance of observing details—not just the colossal or grand scale, but also the small, intricate elements. “What a beautifully made drawing.”

3. At Galerie Harms Rolde (stand 68) Lonneke selected Rennend hondje (1962) by Pieter Pander. This piece features a dog completely focused on a ball. The animal seems almost more human than animal. Living among humans, the dog has become fully integrated into the human world, a phenomenon the artist captures remarkably well.

4. At Galerie Jan van Hoof (stand 14) Lonneke selected a work by Eelco Brand, WL.movi (2024). This work employs an interesting medium that explores how humans might interact with nature in the future. It is a hybrid form of natural elements and digital ideas. It’s fascinating how the artist has used nature and given it a kind of futuristic vision.

5. At Galerie Mokum (stand 50) Lonneke chose Working home (2022) by Gustav Sundin. It evokes thoughts of personal life and home. This, with a laptop, plants, etc., has become our new "nature." After millions of years of evolution, this is where we’ve arrived. The world is now in your home instead of outside in nature. The plant is decoration; it no longer fulfils a basic necessity for life.

Want to hear more from Lonneke? On Tuesday, November 26, at 2 p.m., she will take part in a talk at the PAN Podium.
 

This year we’ve invited writer and journalist Pieter van Os to ‘star’ five works at the 37th edition of the PAN Amsterdam. He published many articles on the Dutch art world in daily newspaper NRC. He has published books including Tussen kunst & cash and Wij begrijpen elkaar uitstekend, reflecting on his years as a parliamentary reporter for NRC. His book Liever dier dan mens, a history from Central Europe, is the only book to have been awarded both the Brusse Prize for best journalistic book and the Libris History Prize.

“In the overwhelming amount of wonderful and beautifully disturbing works, I have found a few animals that captured my imagination. One in ceramics, one almost hidden in an expressionistic painting, one sculpted in metal, and another one more than 2200 years old, an object once used to take a real cat from Ptolemaic Egypt to the eternal afterlife. The decoration on the head of this little mummy mask is extremely simple, or effective, just like the little dots on the one fascinating, little drawing I selected.”

1. At Gallery Fleur & Wouter (stand G) Pieter selected an intriguing sculpture by Warre Mulder, Even in Your Warm Pyjamas, Nature Can Come To Take Its Share (2021). Pieter: “Take note of the feet coming from the beast’ mouth”.
   
2. At Gallery Richard ter Borg (stand 129) Pieter chose a painting by Johan Dijkstra, Landschap. “Born in Garnwerd, in the north of the province Groningen, I immediately recognised the atmosphere of this expressionistic landscape. It’s my childhood. And then, suddenly, I discovered this crazy big horse…”

3. At Antiques Emporium (stand F) Pieter selected Jugendstil tafellamp met lampenkap van Johann Loetz Witwe (circa 1908). “Jugendstil has the appearance of smoothness, maybe even of harmless decoration, but don’t be mistaken: this is a real venomous snake, and scary as hell as you really take the time to look at it.”

4. At Kunsthandel Mieke Zilverberg (stand 78) Pieter chose a small cartonnage mummy mask of a cat (late-Ptolemaic Period, 6th-3rd cent. BC). “Ever seen a completely soaked cat? The head really fitted in this little mask from Egypt. And look at the eyes… just a few strokes, but totally credible, instantly. That’s the highest form of art.”

5. At Ubbens Art (stand 98) Pieter chose a drawing by Theo Lohmann, De open deur (1916-1922). “A great work of a small master, as Job Ubbens says. This one is of such an extraordinarily beauty that it doesn’t even require an animal to get me excited.”