Monique van Welzen-van Rij

“From my employee perspective, I can tell visitors and colleagues about the art in a different way. I encourage my colleagues to hold meetings in the Art Space to freshen up their minds and to think creatively!”

Monique van Welzen-van Rij, Paralegal AkzoNobel & Art Ambassador AkzoNobel Art Foundation

You work at AkzoNobel. How do you experience your work environment surrounded by art?

I feel very privileged to be able to work in a place that is surrounded by beautiful art. When you enter the office in Amsterdam, you immediately walk into the open Art Space. In the Art Space you often see visitors who don't work at AkzoNobel and especially come to the Art Space for the art; the Art Space brings people together and it inspires everyone. It connects seemlessly with the company: we are a paint and color company, after all! I am passionate about art and therefore I love to be one of the ambassadors for the AkzoNobel Art Foundation. With this ambassadorship I try to build a bridge between AkzoNobel, art and the outside world.

Art Ambassador at the AkzoNobel Art Foundation… What does that mean exactly?

Because I think it is important that AkzoNobel has an art collection, I am happy to be an Art Ambassador. The most important task as an Art Ambassador is to provide information about the art collection both internally and externally. I provide my colleagues with information about art on the work floors and I give guided tours in the Art Space to groups ranging from colleagues, clients, children and students to professionals from the art world. We have a team of Art Ambassadors from inside and outside the company. From my employee perspective, I can tell visitors and colleagues about the art in a different way. I encourage my colleagues to hold meetings in the Art Space to freshen up their minds and to think creatively!

Are you involved with art in your personal life?

Yes, in my spare time I like to paint (acrylic, oil and watercolor) and I visit museums often, in the Netherlands and abroad. I also take art lessons at Ars Aemula in Leiden. Art gives me satisfaction, I like to look at it and I like to talk about it with others; what exactly do you see in it and what does it do to you? You can come to new insights together by looking at art. I also try to encourage this during the guided tours in the Art Space.

What are your most precious art-related memories of the past year?

My most recent art memory ... the Rembrandt year 2019! I see Rembrandt as an important founder and influencer of European art. I admire his light and dark techniques. I have read a few books about his life and the background to his artworks, I visited the Rembrandt days in Leiden with great pleasure and attended a number of lectures by Onno Blom about Rembrandt. I like to visit the ‘The Night Watch’ in the Rijksmuseum regulary. In my opinion, ‘The Night Watch’ is one of our most valuable and internationally appreciated artworks that we know in Dutch art history. AkzoNobel is now strongly involved in the (live) restoration of 'the Night Watch', which I follow with much excitement!

Hans Op de Beeck | Tatiana (Butterfly)
2017 | Polyester, polyamide, copper, coating, wood
80 x 155 CM

"This is a wonderful work; it is a dreaming girl, the image expresses a kind of magic. In the summer I often lead groups of children around the Art Space as part of Art Zuid Camp (art camp for youngsters in the south of Amsterdam), the girls often sit next to her, in the same position that have the same kind of hair."

Bernard Frize | Vingthuit
1996 | acrylic paint, resin on canvas
140 x 140 CM

"Colourful art, it makes you happy, it's so pure! When I give a tour in the Art Space, I link this to our (AkzoNobel) core business; color and paint! You can also see the chemical process that paint goes through on a canvas: making optimum use of the material with different types of (paint)brushes."

Gijs Frieling | Common Background
2018 | pigments, casein
700 x 400 CM

"I love this mural because of the beautiful colors. This work is specially made for the 'Common Ground' exhibition of the AkzoNobel Art Foundation. The artist Gijs Frieling made this large-scaled work at the Art Space with his family in 4 days. I can keep looking at it, there is so much to see, it continues to inspire."

Eelco Brand | BL.movi
2012 | digital animation, 42'' screenset & 2 stainless steel objects
60 x 33 CM

"This artwork reminds me of my early days at AkzoNobel, when I worked for the Car Refinishes department, because of the blue figures that are sprayed with coatings used in the automotive industry. What I like about this work is the reflections through which you can see its surrounding, both in the round objects on the floor and in the film. The realistic nature of the film makes you wonder whether it is real or not, is the blue figure in the video really placed in nature or not?"