Oomen Collection —
2026
Museum Villa, Amsterdam NL
From the outside, the home of Frans Oomen looks like a typical Amsterdam house. Inside, four floors are packed with art. Artworks of all mediums hang in the kitchen and bathrooms, line hallways and staircases, and stack up in the attic. The traditional image of an art collector involves white cotton gloves and sterile storage facilities, where work is kept out of sight. Oomen’s approach is different. He doesn’t worry for dust or sunlight. He lives alongside his treasures. “I’d rather enjoy a work for 30 years and see it discolor, than keep it locked away.”
Frans Oomen (1962) was born and raised in the center of Amsterdam. In the 1970s and 80s, the Westerpark neighbourhood was still considered rough and largely avoided. Oomen, however, was drawn to it. As a young artist he became part of the local scene: squatting houses and organizing art exhibitions in the abandoned Westergasfabriek. During his time at art academy, Oomen began exchanging artworks with classmates. These formed the foundation of what would grow into a collection of over 4.000 pieces. Over 40 years, Oomen has built more than a collection – he has created a time capsule of his own view on the artworld.
From 12.03.2026-15.04.2026, a selection of 73 pieces including works by Aernout Mik, Rieneke Dijkstra, Rob Scholte, Philip Akkerman, and Zanele Muholi from the Oomen Collection was on show at Museum Villa, just a few hundred meters away from Oomen’s home.
Davide Sartori — 2026
Triennale, Milano, IT
‘The shape of our eyes, other things I wouldn’t know’ is a body of work exploring the relationship between the photographer and his father. Centered around the workplace, the airport and the photography studio, a series of collaborative attempts is documented in an effort of building a relationship. The work presents the mulitfaceted relationship between masculinity, fatherhood, labour, and responsibility.
Davide Sartori (1995) is a artist from Italy based in the Netherlands. In his work, the viewer is challenged to question the truthfulness of a photograph. Archival material, documentary photography, and constructed images are intertwined. The medium of photography functions as a tool to engage with multiple realities at once. Inspired by his own experiences, his work reflects a profound interest in human behaviour, passage of time, and traces that people leave behind. His research is driven by the interplay between presence and absence, examining how photography can capture and influence both personal and collective memories.
After being awarded with the ‘Premio Luigi Ghirri’ during the presentation of Giovane Fotografia Italiana at the Musei Civici in 2025, the work was on show at Triennale Milano from 11.02.2026-22.03.2026.
Site (non) specific neon building kit no.005, Merijn Haenen — 2025
Museum Villa, Amsterdam NL
Where many artists prefer a blank canvas, Merijn works with what already exists. The approach he charmingly calls site (non)specific, responds directly to the conditions of each environment. An installation could never be reconstructed exactly the same way, yet its components could return in new configurations elsewhere. The discarded neon tubes Merijn collects are fixed in color and form, yet open to new compositions. Like building blocks. Nothing is glued or permanent. Everything could be taken apart. Each work remains temporary.
Within this playful approach, Merijn embraces functional aesthetics. Cables, wiring, and transformers are intentionally customized and carefully arranged in dialogue with their environment. The architecture and its details, even safety and climate equipment, becomes part of the composition. With transparency, the work gives a glimpse into usually concealed technical systems. It will invite you to come closer, to follow the lines, to see how it all connects.
Merijn Haenen (1989) composes tactile collages, transforming discarded remnants of consumer culture. Neon lights, plexiglass, ratchet straps, receipts. His artwork feels both familiar and intangible. Merijn’s practice is rooted in intuition and play. His installations form structured yet intuitive systems where rhythm emerges through contrast, relating to his background as a graphic designer. We are invited to reflect on these objects beyond their market-driven origins, and challenged in how we assign value to what is seen and unseen in our environments.
For the entrance to Museum Villa, Merijn Haenen composed a light installation in Site (non)specific neon building kit no.005 (2025). A threshold that hums and flickers – turning the simple act of entering or leaving into a moment of heightened attention. The work was on show from 12.09.2025-15.04.2026.