Dearly beloved, Emo Verkerk

Emo Verkerk winner of the 2025 Victoriefonds Oeuvre Prize

Sept. 19 to Feb. 8

Dearly beloved, Emo Verkerk

In 1976, at the age of 21, Emo Verkerk created his first work of art: an extended kitchen chair that emphasizes presence. It was the start of a body of work full of portraits of historical figures, from writers to shamans, that genuinely fascinate him. His choice is intuitive, based on sympathy, not admiration. Each encounter leads to a unique method of painting, sometimes even multiple portraits of one person. For Verkerk, painting is about empathy, not as a means but as a consequence. The portrait emerges from the past and appears in the present. A reflection on art, culture and the human psyche. The exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, however, shows an almost unknown side of his work: portraits of people from his immediate surroundings, brought together under the title, Pets.

The exhibition Loved ones can be seen on the second floor

Image: Barend, 1998

Practical information

Exhibition: Loved ones - Emo Verkerk
Opening Hours: Tue to Sun 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Location: Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, Canadaplein 1
Dates: September 19, 2025 to February 8, 2026