Inauguration of the Fundacion vanES - 27th july 2024

Foundation vanES in Sabayés, the inauguration of Jan van Eden's committed artistic cosmos

Javier Garcia Antón Periodista 28 de julio  

eldiariodehuesca.com
 

Hundreds of people gather in the building that houses the Dutchman's permanent exhibition conceived with the much missed Pepa Santolaria.

Day 27 from the 7th at 7 in the afternoon. It was Jan van Eden's announcement just a year earlier in EL DIARIO DE HUESCA: Sabayes, the town of origin of his alter ego, Pepa Santolaria, would become the capital of committed art through the vanES Foundation. And, said and done, this Saturday in this conduit of peace, where barely thirty people resistant to urban charms live, a tower of Babel of Spaniards and Dutch gathered, multiplying the census tenfold. Civil baptism day, visits to the permanent and temporary exhibitions are open.

The census was so rich that, in addition to those present, the painter from the Netherlands and high vision decided to commemorate, taking advantage of his incorporeality, the indispensable ones. To Alberto Carrera Blecua (every day this notary reads in his living room the legend "the painter betrays himself in the word"), to Maria Jesus Bull and Angel Ramirez. And then the figure of Ramon Justes emerged. And we all looked for them with our eyes (and identified his spirit).

And, of course, Pepa [and her Art Singel 100 gallery in Amsterdam], nine years after her departure to another dimension. And Jan put her in the front line of everyone. She was from Melilla by birth, from Huesca in spirit, like Jan, cosmopolitan by condition. They both named the vanES Foundation (acronym for Van Eden and Santolaria), this building designed by Sixto Marin conceived to be a temple in which freedom and art converge, which are actually formed by the same primer.

Jan, as if everyone didn't know him, explained his life from his native Voorburg) 1942. His parents' decision that he had to pursue a "profitable" career, his choice of Geology (in essence it is to penetrate the roots of the planet), his anti-war determination that made him leave for the world to avoid military service. in the midst of the Vietnam War, his African experiences, his meetings with Pepa, his widower drive and his eternal commitment to injustice, misery and totalitarianism.

His friend Luis Nieto, after the painter's introduction, recalled the fascination that Jan van Eden's humility provoked in him from the moment a chance encounter created a link through a common interest: Palestine. He exposed Jan's great courage, the coherence of "a rebel with a cause from a very young age, who rebels against situations he doesn't like."

Nieto explains in this way his adherence to the Central European expressionist love and the concept that "painting is a very powerful tool with which he has contributed to denouncing power, corruption and injustice." And van Eden's traveling vocation facilitated by his professional dedication to Geology. With Pepa, they toured the world, the hot scenes, "they came back, worked and felt the loss of human rights." And then they fertilized their "historical seeds."

This signing notary was invited to address a few words after the deep impression that the vanES Foundation made on him a year earlier. And, in order not to betray oneself in the word, he recalled the article from a year earlier that summarizes the spirit of Jan van Eden: "My vision of this world is captured in a painting. In the middle, power, politics, the people who govern in this world, with the media like television and radio, at its side, the elements that entertain the world, with war or sport (there is little difference). Everything is within a well-organized dome where we live. We leave the world in flames and darkness, which is on the margins of this painting."

Jan van Eden is the cosmos of committed art, aesthetic beauty with the pigment of the deepest ethics. And, above all, the demonstration that the artist "paints with the eye, through that fundamental human faculty that is curiosity that uses the tool of observation." Also to use it you need courage, courage, love for justice, loyalty to oneself to denounce situations of injustice and destruction. "To enjoy the exhibition at the Vanes Foundation, it is advisable to first strip yourself of prejudices, because they will clash with the unlimited universal vision of Jan and Pepa.

And, from there, explore the figures of great activists in the history of the humanity (special sensitivity of Ana Magnani, Susan Sarandon or Billi Holiday), artists whose faces reflect suffering, Vietnam, Angola, Gaza, the Sahrawis, the Melilla fence, the 1939 Spanish concentration camp in Argelés-Sur -Mer, the figure of Gaddafi, the UN and the great centers of power.

Stein Van Eden, the painter's nephew and member of the Board of Trustees, was impressed by the event. There are many cultures here, many people who have Pepa in mind. who left us nine years ago.

In English, he applied the Spanish proverb of "a powerful gentleman is a gift of money" and improvised something that his uncle did not know: with a characteristic Dutch milkcan, he invited those present to contribute in cash or with a QR code to contribute to the support of the Vanes Foundation "It's not Jan's idea, but it will guarantee great success for the future after this incredible night."

The Vanes Foundation has already opened its doors to those who dare to appreciate Jan's art, which he defines: "I paint what people want to say." And sensitivity is subversive.

THE FIRST TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

The first exhibition in the Patio that houses these samples is by Esther Levigne (Barcelona,1973). She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht. and currently works in Bilbao. Her works have been regularly displayed at Art Singel 100 in Amsterdam for twenty-three years. The author was present at the inauguration.

Text in spanish