At Home With... Hanne and Frank
View of Hanne & Frank’s living room. On the wall, right: Saddleworth 3, 2013 from the Saddleworth Moor Series by Matthew Murray.
One late summer afternoon, we visited the beautiful home of Hanne and Frank: our very first clients at the gallery back in 2003. Over the years, Hanne (working in ICT) and Frank (retired graphic designer) have built an impressive collection: including pieces by iconic artists such as Brian Duffy and John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, but also more contemporary photographers, like Matthew Murray and Michelle Sank, have found their way into Hanne and Frank’s home.
Images of pop musicians, jelly fish and famous footballers, the collection truly spans a diverse set of topics. But looking closer, there is a theme balancing movement and stillness, colours and black-and-white running through, that ties everything together beautifully.
It was almost 18 years ago, when you—as the first ever client of the gallery—purchased your first piece: A Concentrated Solo by John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins. What drew you to this photo?
Hanne: We met Addie through Frank’s sister, who was also working with photography, in a press agency. She lived almost next door to the first location, in the Jordaan. I remember the exhibition of the Rolling Stones by John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins. When I saw A Concentrated Solo, I sort of recognised myself in it, because I played in a band as a guitar player. It inspired me, seeing a part of myself in him. I always looked up to Brian Jones.
A Concentrated Solo', Brian Jones around 4am, at 'All-Nighter', Alexandra Palace, London, 1964 by John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins
After almost two decades, you have become established collectors. How did your collection grow? And how was/is your experience, collecting together as a couple?
Hanne: The collection grew sort of by itself. With most of the pictures I had that quite impulsive feeling of a wow-factor. Like, “oh wow! I immediately want to have that”. I don’t think impulsive decisions are necessarily bad ones. Biologically, it’s a basic human instinct that we are capable of quick selection. We are very good at identifying what is important, what’s dangerous. Like a prey or a predator, that ability for selection, everybody has got that.
So, I choose the pictures. But in terms of finding them a place: the interior of our house is entirely Frank’s domain. It’s him who gives them their final place!
Frank: Oh yes, this is true. I grow into the pictures he buys, I like most of them. If I absolutely don’t want a picture in a certain spot, it won’t happen.
H: I also could never buy a photograph he absolutely hates. That’s a big no-no. Luckily, we have more or less the same taste, we’re not polar opposites. But Frank has an eye for design: he know how things will work together in a space.
Swimmer, El Malecón, Cuba by Henry Horenstein
And how did Elliott Gallery contribute to the growth of your collection?
Hanne: The gallery played a major part in it. It introduced me to new pieces and made me enthusiastic about other photographers. Our whole collection is really because the gallery has such great exhibitions and wonderful photographers.
Frank: Especially, the opening of a new exhibition is always a great moment. It’s so inspiring when you see all the work together and get a chance to meet the photographers. For instance, with Choi Byung-Kwan’s small bamboo pieces, it was really the moment. We were in the gallery and met him there, we got a feeling of the way he thinks, how he makes his art.
H: And, we actually spoke with quite a lot of them, I remember Michelle Sank, Henry Horenstein, David van Dartel. That is absolutely an added value for us, to hear their story and inspiration for their work.
F: What we like about Elliott Gallery, is that the represented photographers keep returning in exhibitions, either with new or existing work and this way, you are always in for surprises as a visitor or client, seeing work in different ways and contexts.
Sil in de Branding, 2017 and Sil Tijdens Vloed, 2017 by David van Dartel
Bamboo Square #6, 2019 and Bamboo Grey #2, 2018 by Choi Byung-Kwan
You have a great variation of themes and styles in your collection. What is your favourite piece in your collection?
H: That is very difficult, I like them all of course. Jimi Hendrix by Elliott Landy and A Concentrated Solo by Hoppy are my favourite. They are my heros and they were photographed in a very distinct way, not posed at all, but very much in the moment, in motion. And these pictures are new for most people, they have not been seen much. I like the realness of them: it’s in the heat of the moment during the concert, you can almost hear the music.
F: I really like the two by David van Dartel and by Choi Byung-Kwan. I like these because there is a silence coming from these pictures.
View of Hanne & Frank’s office with a rare platinum print of Sea Nettle, Chrysaora Fuscescens from the Animalia Series by Henry Horenstein
You are moving to a new apartment soon: this apartment will be brand new—at least from the inside. How will the move from such a characteristic, historical environment to a modern, freshly renovated place affect your collection?
F: In a way, we have to find out. The space is very different from here. We only have one big wall in the living room and lots of light, much more than now. And another thing is that there are big pillars throughout the whole house. So we think we can use them as well, to hang things, which will be an interesting new way of showing our collection.
We will start with a clean slate, but some will stay the same: Choi Byung-Kwan will definitely be in the bedroom, Matthew Murray in the living room. Jolene (Michelle Sank) and Boy on Wall (Hoppy) will stay together. In the beginning, you start thinking: 'this should be here’, ‘this is nice together’. But then, later on, you start moving things again, things will start flowing around. So, probably it will take quite a while before we know what to put where.
H: We have lived here for years and years, and tried out everything: moving furniture around, this works, that doesn’t. I remember Addie saying: rearrange your collection every now and again. You don’t have to hang everything all the time, put it up, take it down, change it around.
This way, you also don’t grow tired of a picture, because it’s always in a new setting or context. But I always see the reason why I initially bought it. There is an extra factor, a reason why you like it so much. And that always remains.
Johan Cruijff, Pelé & Ladislao Mazukiwicz and Diego Maradona from The Epiphany Series by Robert Davies
Ideally, which piece from the gallery would you like to bring home to your new house?
F: For me, it’s quite obvious. Charlie Watts just died and I really like the Rolling Stones pictures from Behind the Buttons by Gered Mankowitz. That would be something I’d like to hang somewhere.
H: I love The Terra Nova held up in the pack by Herbert Ponting. I remember seeing that, thinking: “wow, that is so sharp and detailed!”. I really like the extraordinary and adventurous story behind this series. The icy landscape, which is very silent and untouched, and suddenly, very intrusive, this big ship. Also, the historical part: you can imagine loads of stories behind it: what’s happening here, what has happened, what will happen… And of course, its size: it’s a huge picture, I remember finding it very impressive.
The Rolling Stones (Colour) “Behind the Buttons Cover.” Primrose Hill, Northwest London., 1967 by Gered Mankowitz
The Terra Nova held up in the pack, December 13th 1910 by Herbert Ponting
What would your advice be for people who want to start collecting or buying photography but do not know where to start?
H: Follow your instinct. I never imagined myself having such a big collection but you stumble upon new photographers, things you haven’t seen before. And then, I’m often like “this is a very beautiful picture and I want to buy it!”
F: This is actually a good sign for the gallery: truly anyone can become a collector!
Would you say the same, Frank: ‘follow your instinct’?
F: Not necessarily… It has got so much to do with interior. Try to find something that could be put in a nice place in your house and visualise it in that specific room. Something you like to look at, I think that’s the most important. That’s a different attitude than Hanne!
H: I never think about where should I put it. I just like the picture and trust there will be place for it somewhere…
F: Coming from a design background, that’s where it becomes very difficult for me, because I have to hang it somewhere without having an idea beforehand. I guess you could compare it to the decoration of our garden patio. Hanne’s hobby is: go to the garden center, load the car, and suddenly, there are twenty new plants. And my idea is, I need three plants and that’s it. I’m more a ‘less is more’ person.
H: That’s not my style… More is more!
