30-year-old Lewis van Gogh has his own art gallery at Hallen Studios in Oud-West. The son of murdered director and TV presenter Theo van Gogh wants to do everything in his power to realize his artistic dream.
He has quit his job as a chef and is now fully devoted to making art. In the past, he produced many works, which led to his first exhibition. “It’s been a bit of a wild ride in recent weeks,” says Lewis van Gogh of the exhibition space. “From hitting the kitchen to making an annual salary in a day. That’s consistent, but we don’t do it for the money.”
pride
Despite saying this with a wink, many of the works were already sold out in the early hours of the show. Something he himself did not expect, but the joy is great. “I’m happy more than anything, and I’m not much proud,” he says. Then when he hears that the wall of colorful paintings of giraffes is almost completely sold out, he adds, “Well, damn it, I’m proud!”
He is assisted, mainly in business, by two of his father’s former colleagues. “Dwischka van Hoogdalem was always an assistant to Lewis’ father, to Theo van Gogh, and I was Theo’s assistant in the office,” said Alexandra Kidman, the manager. “Leoi is Theo’s son and Theo is no longer there, but the three of us have now survived. We’ve turned the negative name from Van Gogh into Lewy into a positive and there you are!”
milk out
Although he himself sometimes has trouble recognizing Van Gogh’s name, Lowe knows that abroad he can greatly help in increasing his fame and marketing. He laughs: “I’ll milk it 100% for sure as much as I can in Asia and America.” “But I hate it when people come up with ‘Hey, Louis van Gogh, just call me Liu’.”
Spray bottles from the kitchen
Leoy’s style can be called peculiar, not only in his paintings. The graceful artist bounces across his display space and the busy character also appears in his approach to drawing and detailing. “I usually work in underwear, preferably a little in the evening,” he explains. “I put my headphones on and then work with the spray bottles. These are the things I used in the kitchen to make the dishes pretty. I haven’t seen anyone do that yet, so maybe I’ve discovered something new, who knows.”
The exhibition can be visited at Hallen Studios through Mondays. After the show ended on White Monday, Van Gogh was already beginning to turn his eyes to the future. He’s already excited to leave for New York in the fall. There he would work for a month in the studio doing works, which he would show there afterwards.