Reframing a Private Collection as an Intimate Dialogue

What happens when an artist turns curator, stepping into the shoes of a collector to interpret someone else’s vision through their own? From April 22 to June 8, London-based artist Ben Edmunds (UK, 1994) takes on this role for the fourth edition of ‘Private Collection Selected By’ at Tatjana Pieters Gallery. Invited to respond to the private collection of Joost & Siska Vanhaerents-Dezutter, Edmunds curates a nuanced dialogue between his own new works and selections from their collection. The result is a layered and personal conversation between artist and collector.

Ben Edmunds is known for large-scale works that merge modernist abstraction with the bold aesthetics of extreme sports. His background in sailing and windsurfing enters his practice treating painting not only as visual expression but as a kind of psychological equipment—tools for navigating inner and outer terrains. In this exhibition, dyed fabrics, carbon fibre, and luminous gradients reflect a spectrum of hope and melancholy, mirroring the emotional depth of Joost and Siska’s collection.

What makes this exhibition striking is its personal tone. Edmunds’ curatorial eye is clearly influenced as much by emotional resonance as by visual affinities. He recounts conversations with Joost—always in a crisp black suit—on their mutual love for Nick Cave and Tindersticks. Siska by contrast, brings brightness and optimism—often literally dressed to match the artworks. Their personalities shape the show’s emotional landscape, where somber reflection meets exuberant color, and where intimacy feels ever-present.

The result is an ambitious, multilayered exhibition featuring pieces by artists such as Matthew Barney, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Kris Martin, Bill Viola, Tomas Saraceno and Sabine Marcelis alongside Edmunds’ own work. Together, they form a constellation of works that reflect the collection’s dual energy: light and darkness, romance and restraint, hope and detachment.

With 'Private Collection Selected By #4’, Tatjana Pieters Gallery continues a bold curatorial experiment—reimagining the gallery artist as curator and storyteller, and the collector as co-author in the evolving narrative of contemporary art.