Light Memory | Museum Flehite

From March 15 through June 29, 2025, Museum Flehite will host the exhibition "LIGHT MEMORY - Wessel Huisman paints Rome. Museum Flehite has traditionally, through the work of the famous Amersfoort painter Mathias Withoos (1627-1703) and his internationally renowned pupil Caspar van Wittel (1653 - 1736), a special connection with Rome. The city that has inspired artists for centuries is represented in this exhibition in an exceptional way through the eyes of Wessel Huisman. With his characteristic interplay between light and time, abstraction and figuration, Huisman offers a fresh and intriguing view of the Eternal City. The exhibition includes 45 paintings and studies focusing on historic sites, church interiors and museums.

It was the former general director of the Vatican Museums, Professor Francesco Buranelli, who approached Wessel Huisman during an exhibition in Florence with the fascinating question of how he, as a Dutch painter with a specific view of light and space, would capture the iconic sites of Rome. Wessel responded with two exhibitions, on view in 2024 at the Museo del Foro Romano and at the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome (KNIR).

"Wessel's focus on Italy has a lot of common ground with old Amersfoort masters in our collection. For that reason, I have been following his work for years. Now it is high time to bring Huisman's Rome in the Netherlands together with the cityscapes of Van Wittel and Withoos." Thus Onno Maurer, chief curator of Museum Flehite.

About Wessel Huisman
Wessel Huisman has a background in both fine art and history. While studying at the Academy of Visual Arts and Design in Arnhem in 1979, he simultaneously studied history at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Although he has never worked as a historian, his artistic oeuvre is marked by a profound interest in the relationship between past and present.

Huisman: "Rome is frequently digitally recorded by its visitors; the photos and videos seem to reflect our relationship with reality. This exhibition is also a powerful statement in favor of the imaginative power of painting."

Painting through time
Light plays a central role in Huisman's work. From his earliest childhood in Breda, he has registered and stored all kinds of light conditions. In the same way that smells can do that, this archive of light stimulates his memories. Thus Huisman travels through time while painting, bringing light conditions and past experiences back to life. Conversely, walking along the Tiber in Rome may alert him to a specific light impression and atmosphere from his childhood. In his work, history returns, not just as thought or memory, but as a vital and intense experience of the now.

Balance between figurative and abstract
In his work, Huisman connects the figurative with the abstract. For him, paint is the bridge between these two worlds. He plays with the power of illusion and recognition that a painting can evoke, so that his work both intrigues and amazes.

Wessel Huisman exhibits frequently and worldwide, especially in the Far East. In China, for example, he has been represented by Moyi Art Gallery/Shanghai since 2012. In 2016, supported by the Dutch Consulate General, he spent over three months as artist in residence in that city. His work is unique in the way it brings together light, time, memory and history.

Book: The Generous Space
Capturing light in painting, since the late 1980s this has been Wessel Huisman's ambition.
The book reflects his research of roughly the past two decades.
On sale from March 15 in the museum store for €49.50.

Wessel Huisman, The Light that Is, acrylic on canvas, 160 x 160, 2021