Penning van de Nederlandsch-Belgische Vereniging van Vrienden van de Medaille before 1933

Chris van der Hoef crafted this bronze medal, like a tiny world, for the Dutch-Belgian Association of Friends of the Medal. I can only imagine how he might have carefully modelled the shapes. I'm drawn to how the figures emerge in relief. On one side is a woman-like figure emerging out of the sea. She has her arms raised to hold the shell above. On the other side are many women holding what looks like a flower. I wonder if he was thinking about ideas around collaboration and unity. There’s a conversation happening here between the artist and the material, a kind of back-and-forth that shapes the image and the ideas it carries. The raised figures create a world. It reminds me of my own practice. When I'm working in my studio, I'm always thinking about the lineage of painting, how each of us is in dialogue with the artists who came before, building on their ideas, pushing them in new directions. This medal makes me wonder about the dialogue between Belgium and the Netherlands. There is an element of uncertainty. What I appreciate is the exchange of ideas that makes art so vital and alive.