The Traveller included a selection from the private collection of Rotterdam collector Alexander Ramselaar. Especially now that the Dutch government is reducing its involvement in art, it is remarkable that private initiators such as Alexander Ramselaar are increasingly seeking the context of the art world. What moves him?
In recent years, Ramselaar has intensified his involvement in the world of contemporary art, not only by collecting, but also by becoming active as a patron (CoCA Foundation), in boards, as a writer and as an advisor. In 2011 he published a web column for TENT in the context of State of The Art – visions on the future of art in Rotterdam.
Ramselaar: “Collecting feels like a path that paves itself, as it were, driven by the inner self and passion, towards something beautiful, of which I do not yet know what it will ultimately look like. Art takes me on a journey: experiencing a work is a world that unfolds. Traveling is in my blood. The desire to be a participant in the reality of everyday life abroad manifested itself early on. An apparent desire in me to unravel reality in this way, to understand it. An endless search, the horizon is always further than I thought.
This exhibition is a snapshot of how traveling changes my view of art and art changes my view of the world. In the exhibition I take the visitor along works from my collection with fragments from diaries that provide a personal insight into each work. An ongoing process of discovery, reflection and choice, a journey in itself.”
TENT as a work room
During the exhibition, Ramselaar was present in TENT every Sunday afternoon for meetings with the public. “During the exhibition I will move my workroom to TENT. Desk, chair, lamp, books, storage, notes… everything will go with me. I will also be there regularly during the exhibition.”