Fred Landsman
Exhibition Humanoids
13-06-2026 -31-08-2026
Zonder titel, 56x152cm
Schetsen, 12x15cm.
Fred Landsman – Humanoids
For decades, Fred Landsman has been building an extensive personal archive in his studio in Holwerd, consisting of sketches, studies, notebooks, and gouaches. These works emerge primarily from direct observation of the Wadden landscape and the human presence within it—not as deliberate works of art, but as intuitive notes and visual records.
Characteristic of Landsman's practice is his persistent refusal to describe what he does as “making art.” He sees himself instead as someone who observes, records, and allows things to rest. From this ever-growing archive, he occasionally retrieves works that he intuitively places alongside one another. This is precisely how the two gouaches in the exhibition Humanoids came together: sketch-like figures, possibly created decades apart, now forming something new without being based on a preconceived composition.
His archive is therefore not a collection of finished “works,” but a living reservoir of moods, memories, and recurring forms. Time and chance play a vital role. An old sketch may suddenly resonate with a later one, creating a quiet, almost inevitable dialogue between the human figure and space.
This working method gives the two gouaches their distinctive strength: an immediate, unforced presence that is nevertheless layered and resonant. It is not art in the conventional sense, but a careful, unhurried way of engaging with perception and memory—vulnerable, open, and free from pretension.
In Humanoids, this archival process demonstrates how something essential about the human condition can emerge through simplicity and accumulation within a vast, quiet landscape.
BIOGRAPHY
Born on 4 November 1941, Fred Landsman grew up in an environment where painting and imagination were an integral part of everyday life. His grandfather painted landscapes and portraits after existing examples, while his father captured the surrounding landscape. These early experiences laid an important foundation for his later development as an artist.
In 1962, he moved to Amsterdam. Between 1964 and 1967, he studied at Ateliers '63. During this period, he developed the conviction that being an artist is not merely a matter of technique or form, but also of personal growth and an open attitude towards life.
From 1966, he lived and worked in Edam, where the light and landscape of the IJsselmeer became an important influence on his paintings. In 1975, he settled in Holwerd, on the edge of the Wadden Sea. Since then, the vast Frisian landscape and the ever-changing interplay of light, water, and horizon have remained enduring sources of inspiration.
His work emerges from attentive observation and a continuous search for what precedes the image itself: the experience of space, life, and connection. For Landsman, painting is not an end in itself, but a natural way of remaining in touch with what moves him. This attitude has resulted in a body of work in which stillness, light, and the relationship between humanity and its environment occupy a central place.
CV
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1971 Galerie Booker, Amsterdam.
1972 Galerie terGouw, Purmerend.
1973 Galerie Nouvelles Images, Den Haag.
1975 Galerie Fagel, Amsterdam.
1975 Galerie van Hulsen, Leeuwarden.
1976 Galerie Wellmann, Dússeldorf.
1976 Zienagoog, Zaandam.
1977 Galerie Fagel, Amsterdam.
1978 Wetering gallerie, Amsterdam.
1978 Stedelijk Museum, Maassluis.
1979 Stedelijk Museum, Alkmaar.
1980 Galerie Fenna de Vries, Rotterdam.
1981 K.C.B., Bergen.
1981 Museum Waterland, Purmerend.
1982 Galerie Fenna de Vries, Rotterdam.
1983 Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.
1988 Coopmanshuis, Franeker.
1992 Coopmanshuis, Franeker.
1992 Museum Waterland, Purmerend.
1993 Seasons Galleries, Den Haag.
1995 Seasons Galleries, Den Haag.
1996 Pictura, Dordrecht.
2001 Museum Waterland, Purmerend.
2004 Exp. 23., Edam.
2009 Wout Vuyk, Amsterdam
2021 Metamorfosen, Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
1971 Waterland Manifestatie. Plexiglazen zelfportret, zie catalogus.
1977 Galerie Talien St.Tropez, met Eric de Nie.
1981 Ned. Kunst Stichting. Landschap en natuur beleving.
1982 Culturele Raad N.Holland. 14x Holland.
1984 Galerie Asselijn Amsterdam.
1985 Fonds voor Beeldende Kunst,
1993 K.C.B. Bergen met Dorothee Abbing.
1993 Museum Waterland, Purmerend.
1995 Grote Kerk, Leeuwarden, zie catalogus.
1995 Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Salut du Monde.
2002 Zaans Museum.
2002 Kunstcentrum Zaanstad.
2004 Coopmanshuis Franeker.
2007 Edams Museum
2008 Fries Museum, Leeuwarden
2009 NOK, Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen
2015 Improvisaties op wind, water, wad, Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen
2018 100 jaar Friese schilderkunst, Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen