ABOUT THE FOUNDER OF THE GALLERY
Artist,
Art Historian,
Entrepeneur
Sander Kletter was born in 1962 in the Dutch town of Haarlem. In his youth, his interest in art arose at an early age. After school he drew cartoon characters or made a portrait of the family's cat, played the violin and could browse through his parents' art books for hours on end, especially the work of Botticelli, Mantegna, Rafael and Rembrandt appealed to him.
Sander Kletter painting in his Dutch studio about 2003
Studying in Amsterdam
When he was 19 he moved to Amsterdam where, after studying economics at the university for a year, he studied art at the Amsterdam Academy of Art. During his studies he was tought how to draw outside, a portrait, the nudemodel and the still life. He also learned to paint with gouache, acrylic, watercolours and oil paint and to make etchings and lithographs. He graduated in 1986, during his studies the aspiring artist also performed as a street artist. During the summers he travelled from Amsterdam via Aachen, Brussels, Paris and Zurich to Vienna, or even further to the sunny south, to cities such as Florence, Barcelona, Marseille and Montpellier. On the street he played pantomime and violin, juggling, doing acrobatic tricks, in the style of and inspired by Tommy Cooper, one of his childhood idols. His interest in theatre was great, he directed several performances of amateur theatre during his study years, and was part of the famous professional Pantomime theatre group Rob van Reijn for a short period.
Sander Kletter, Amsterdam - The Western Harbour, charcoal, paint and ink on paper, 70 x 100 cm, in private collection Veendam (The Netherlands)
In the ten years following the academy, the artist's work developed in rapidly changing stages. In the beginning he painted abstractly, with a large gesture on big sized canvases, inspired by the work of the famous American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) of The New York School. Subsequently, his work evolved into the geometric abstract. In 1989 he started the second phase study Image & Media Technology at the Utrecht School of the Arts, suddenly becoming interested in the possibilities of computer and video as art forms. Shortly before the end of this tecnical two-year study, however, he returned to his studio. He realised that it did't have brought him what he wanted, but the influence on his visual work was huge.
Kletter started building objects, in which he used for instance neon light, combining this with existing objects, metal, wood and plastics, while applying all kinds of collage and assembly techniques. He made moving objects on and/or in his viewing cabinets with the help of electric motors, which he bought in shops for technical toys. A good example of this period is his hilarious object A.T. Scheuermann made in 1990 (see picture). It is a kind of selfportrait that was inspired on the medical experiences of his youth. In those early years he had several solo exhibitions in different galleries in Amsterdam, both from his abstract and his viewing cabinets period.
Early developments as an artist
Sander Kletter, A.T. Scheuermann, 1990, movable object with moving parts, including Boston brace, helmet and dentures, collage, light, glass and wood, height about 180 cm, Photo: © Geek Zwetsloot, Amsterdam, 1990
Figuration as a guide
After he started modeldrawing with great regularity from 1992 in the busy and extremely inspiring model drawing studio of the eccentric Amsterdam artist Anton Assies, he picked up figurative painting again. Between 1992 and 1996, Kletter made hundreds of model drawings, occasionally a portrait. He invariably went to paint outside on the Amstel river in the summer, partly inspired by the works that the world-famous Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) had once made there. From that moment on, painting landscapes, portraits and nudes became the common thread in Kletter's oeuvre.
Impressed by the masterful depiction of conflicts and dramas related to the human psyche by the great Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944), he began working on a series of works of art entitled Besoin d'Amour from around 1992. Every human being needs love, it means. The theme provides more than enough food for thought, and Kletter's visual imagination would be driven by it for a decade from that moment on. In those years, Kletter exhibited at various galleries and other institutes, including in Amsterdam, Bergen op Zoom, Den Bosch, Drachten, Hardenberg, Huizen and Winschoten. The highlight of all these solo exhibitions is the exhibition at Galerie Nicole Bellier in Paris in 1994. A year later, the steaming artist takes part in the prestigious, one-week masterclass, 'On the creation of a Masterpiece' by the internationally renowned artist Milan Kunc, held in Amsterdam.
Sander Kletter, Anton Assies, 1993, washed ink on paper, 29 x 23 cm
Sander Kletter, Andy no. 2, 1994, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 70 cm, private collection Mr. and Mrs. Yoneyama, Tokyo (Japan)
Sander Kletter, Nude, 1993, charcoal, chalk and ink on paper, 100 x 70 cm, private collection Mr. J. van Spellen, Haarlem (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, The field by Drieborg, 1996, watercolours, 42 x 57 cm, private collection Mr. Van Messel, Scheemda (The Netherlands)
Galerie Beeldkracht
In 1996, the artist moved to the village of Scheemda, 200 km east of Amsterdam, where he and his partner bought a huge business premises. There he starts a gallery for contemporary art, Galerie Beeldkracht, where he also exhibits his own work in the beginning. The gallery is active in the Netherlands and later also internationally. Since 2006, the gallery has represented internationally highly respected artists such as Michael Parkes (USA) and Nico Vrielink (NL), and promising artists such as Arnor Bieltvedt (IS) and Boris Shapiro (UA). Things are going so well that around 2007 it became virtually impossible for Kletter to combine his own artistry and his work as a successful entrepreneur. He continued to paint, although he had little time for it in practice.
Sander Kletter, Portrait Martine and Herman, 2002, oil on canvas, 70 x 90 cm, private collection Mrs. M. van Rijnveld, Eenrum (The Netherlands)
But during the first ten years that the gallery exists, between 1996 and 2005, the artist remains still productive, building on the genres and themes of his former artist life in Amsterdam. He exhibited for the last time in 2005 in Italy, as a participant in a large-scale international group exhibition in the castle of Ferrara.
During the mentioned period he also regularly painted portraits, landscapes and works that could belong in the series Besoin d'Amour commissioned by private individuals and the business community. A nice example of a commisioned portrait is Portrait Martine and Herman, painted in oils in 2002 (see picture).
Sander Kletter, Joli Tango (Besoin d'Amour), 2005, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 100 x 80 cm, private collection Mrs. A. Bakker, Arnhem (The Netherlands)
In 2010, Kletter took a new path. He will study art history at the University of Groningen, from which he graduated cum laude in 2013. A year before the end of his studies, he started the online art encyclopedia and museum guide Art Salon Holland. He can express his creativity in the design of the website, which, just like his brainchild Galerie Beeldkracht, is growing into a huge success. Enterprising as he is, Kletter enters into collaborations with major Dutch museums such as the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and the Groninger Museum in the city of Groningen.
Ten years after its launch, the online art project attracts 60,000 unique visitors per month, and has nearly 2 million page views annually. As an adept entrepreneur, Kletter also knows how to use the website for the necessary advertising purposes of his gallery and his two webshops, one selling glass and one selling art books, which he started running in 2017.
In the twenty-five years of its existence, Kletter writes hundreds of texts for the website for the gallery, in addition to catalogue texts, artist biographies, press releases and texts for invitation cards. For the website Art Salon Holland he writes almost 1000 web texts about world-famous artists, masterpieces from art history, style periods and movements, and about the major international art museums and their collections. The writer Sander Kletter is thus born.
Art Salon Holland
Shortly after graduating, he was asked by the head of the modern art department of the University of Groningen to write a book on the history of Dutch art criticism on video art. The book was published in 2016 by nai010 publishers in Rotterdam. The book then led to author Kletter also writing several articles for the famous Groninger Museum, which were published in the Groninger Museum Magazine.
Sander Kletter, Landscape full of revelations (Besoin d'Amour), 2002, oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm, made in commision for private art collector Prof. dr. R. Jaspers, Haarlem (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter (author), Turbulentie rond videokunst, 2016, Scientific Art Book, published by nai010 uitgevers, Rotterdam
After Sander Kletter graduated from the University of Groningen, he started giving powerpoint lectures from 2014, enthusiastic as he is about the great masters of art history. The lectures were about styles, art movements and famous artists, including Christo, Marlene Dumas, Frida Kahlo, Claude Monet, Edvard Munch and Picasso. These lectures were sometimes given by invitation at another location, sometimes as an organized series of lectures given at Galerie Beeldkracht.
Earlier in his career (1989-2003) he had gained extensive experience as a qualified teacher with courses and workshops in various fields of visual design. He was associated with institutes in Amsterdam, Castricum, Grasse (FR), Groningen and Veendam for a shorter or longer period of time. In that role he was for example a teacher of portrait and model drawing, teacher of landscape painting, teacher of color theory, outdoor drawing, painting with oil paint and painting with mixed media. Between 1996 and 2003 Kletter had his own private training institute, in which he assisted (amateur) artists for years on their path to professionalism, or guided them with great success in their admission to an art academy, or during their examination phase if they were already studying at the academy.
Succesful transfer of enthusiasm
Sander Kletter, Be Happy!, 1991, movable object with controlled moving parts and streaming fluid and light inside, including mini ambulance with flashing light on top, assemblage built of metal, glass and wood, height 180 cm, width 50, depth 70 cm, Photo: © Geek Zwetsloot, Amsterdam, 1991
Galeria Feliz de Arte
in Ladoeiro
In August 2022, Kletter and his wife emigrated to the village of Ladoeiro in Portugal, with the intention of working a little less and enjoying life and the beautiful Portuguese climate a little more. Because of the emigration, he had to close all his successful Dutch companies.
It is in his blood, and so he founded Galeria Feliz de Arte, again with the intention of exhibiting there himself. We'll hopefully see...
Sander Kletter, artist, art historian, entrepeneur
september 2023
Becoming interested? The gallery is open by appointment, see our contact page.
Sander Kletter, Rembo (Rembrandt), 2002, oil and industrial spray paint on canvas, 90 x 90 cm, private collection Mr. and Mrs. Vasse, Zuidhorn (The Netherlands)
More artworks by Sander Kletter
Sander Kletter, Toscane (Commissioned landscape), 2004, oil on canvas, 100 x 180 cm, private collection Mr. and Mrs. Ravensbergen, 1e Exloërmond (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, A'dam & Eve (Besoin d'Amour), 1995, acrylic and mixed media on paper, 42 x 62 cm, collection Museum Waterland, Purmerend (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Aurora (Besoin d'Amour), 1998, mixed media on paper, 28 x 18 cm, private collection Mrs. Beljaars, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Self-portrait, 1991, charcoal and chalk on paper, 65 x 50 cm
Sander Kletter, The Ebbens Brothers (Commissioned portrait), 2000, oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm, private collection Mr. and Mrs. Ebbens, Veendam (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Somewhere past Beerta, 1996, mixed media on paper, 42 x 57 cm, private collection, Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Polder Fantasy (no. 2), 1996, acrylics on canvas, 65 x 80 cm, private collection Mr. and Mrs. Meerstra, Vries (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Be sweet Maria (Besoin d'Amour), 1998, acrylics and mixed media on paper, 100 x 70 cm, private collection Mr. and Mrs. Imminga, Almere (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Expectations (Besoin d'Amour), 1999, Charcoal and pastel on paper, 70 x 100 cm, private collection Mrs. Beljaars, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Jennifer, 1993, washed ink on paper, 20 x 29 cm, private collection Mrs. A. de Groot, Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Brasilian Girl (no. 5), 1992, pen and ink on paper, 29 x 23 cm, private collection Mrs. N. van der Hust, Purmerend (The Netherlands)
Sander Kletter, Portrait Study, 1994, Pastel on paper, 50 x 65 cm
