Kwartje uit 1928 met beeldenaar van Wilhelmina in rozenrand 1953 - 1969

This small silver piece made in 1928 by C. de Draaijer is a coin featuring Wilhelmina, the Queen of the Netherlands, nestled within a garland of roses. I love the idea of taking something so official and turning it into something decorative, sentimental even. You can imagine the artist carefully placing each tiny rose around the coin, trying to capture the likeness of the queen. The roses, each one a delicate curve of silver, feel like both a celebration of her reign and a wish for its continued beauty. It reminds me of the way artists layer meaning and intention into their work, how a gesture, carefully considered, can communicate so much. I think of Eva Hesse and her experimental approach to materials, her constant play between precision and chance. And I imagine C. de Draaijer as part of this conversation across time, all of us artists using what we have to make something new, something that speaks to the way we see the world.