Opening night at gallery JaJa

After a walk through the dunes on Sunday afternoon we headed for Amsterdam to attend the opening of a new exhibition in gallery JaJa and visit with the gallery owner Janneke Graamans, whom I have the pleasure of knowing and working with since the mid nineties.
Brigitte Bauhuis was showing a series of paintings in a combination of oil, wax and ink. You can see the wall directly behind the entry with a collection of her work.
The building is one of those typical old Amsterdam stores/homes, very narrow but deep and over several levels. A few years ago Janneke had it remodeled and now it has a tremendous clever use of space. believe it or not, this small gallery can easily fit up to 25 paintings and not just small ones.
Monday we visited Art Line gallery where Jupp Linssen was showing recent works. Gallery Art Line is another wonderful gallery to visit while in Amsterdam. After entering through one of those stately old doors you enter into the front part of the gallery that has a wide window overlooking the Bloemgracht, the back part probably was some sort of open workshop but has a roof now that lets the daylight in making it one of the most wonderful gallery spaces I know. Jupp Linssen is a German artist of international fame and this is a beautiful show. He works in mixed media in a palette of off-whites, grays, beiges. The works are very textural, sometimes incorporating sheets of lead and other found materials, shapes seem to come about in a very organic way. Sometimes there is a hint of a still life like form in a sharp outlining carved in the textural paints. If you are anywhere near Amsterdam make sure to go and see this show! Unfortunately the links that I added only show you one painting and no views of the gallery or more works by Linssen. The show lasts till May 2007.