Neighborhood jury at Jacob Lawrence

On Saturday morning, November 8, the Neighborhood jury of Amersfoort a visit to the exhibition about Jacob Lawrence at Kunsthal KAdE.

Below you can read how the Neighborhood Jury members enjoyed their museum visit to Kunsthal KAdE  and the overview of the oeuvre of Jacob Lawrence have experienced:

Liesbeth: On Saturday morning, November 8, we visited the Wijkjury Amersfoort with a Visit to the Jacob Lawrence exhibition at the KAdE art gallery. A new Neighborhood Jury consisting of a diverse group of participants whom I met for the first time. Contrary to what I usually do, I had not prepared myself at all for what was to come, neither in terms of the artist nor the theme. It turned out more than well because, after the exhibition, I was deeply moved, both by the enormous beauty of the art, the impact of the artist, and my amazement at the topicality!
Modernist Jacob Lawrence, 1917–2000, is one of the most influential African American artists who ever lived. His art is nonjudgmental and tells “the honest story.” Lawrence was anything but a protest artist. Remarkably talented for someone without formal training who painted his best-known/most important work, the Migration series, at the age of 24. It is important to note that African American history was not taught in schools in the US.
The current Trump administration wants to suppress stories about the history of the black population, which makes it all the more important that his work becomes better known.
The way in which the dramatic history of the black population in the US is portrayed so brilliantly, clearly, powerfully, and magically, then and now, touches you deeply in your heart and immediately explains the enormous success of this exhibition. An impressive exhibition that everyone should see. Kudos to Robbert Roos, director of KAdE, who made this possible. It's a little early, but this exhibition deserves a 10 in my opinion!

Gert: The story he conveys, as well as his life story, are impressive, but his art appeals to me less; it reminds me of paintings made by children, with nice colors, little to no perspective, and rough shapes.

Marion: I had never been to KAdE before. It was great that there was a guided tour; the commentary and explanations about this exhibition added an extra dimension to my visit. Otherwise, I would have just walked past the paintings and certainly found them beautiful, but now I was really moved by the explanations about modern art and the Harlem Renaissance. Really beautiful.

Monique: We, the Neighborhood Jury, arrived extra early at the museum on Saturday morning, November 8, at 10:00 a.m. The tour had been brought forward due to overwhelming public interest. It is wonderful, of course, that an artist who is virtually unknown to the Dutch public has attracted so much attention and enthusiasm in such a short time. This is quite understandable, as Jacob Lawrence's work is very accessible and colorful. His subject matter is social life in all its facets. What appeals to me in Jacob Lawrence's work?
-The simplicity of the shapes, no fuss or unnecessary details.
-Interesting changes in perspective.
-Interesting deformations of the body (think of a rugby player), which emphasize speed or agility.
Personally, I am very fond of the Expressionist art movement. And Lawrence works in an expressionist style. This art movement reflects personal perception and emotions through the distortion of reality.
-The bright warm colors
-The recognizable domestic situations, which make the paintings depicting violence all the more poignant: There is certainly 'violence' in his work, but what impressed me most was the joie de vivre, the vitality that bursts from the canvases. Take the domesticity of a number of panels from the Migration Series. No drama, just people in a train compartment, curiously looking out at the factory chimneys of Pittsburgh, the picnic basket on the table, and the baby on their lap. So ordinary and recognizable, it could be you. It was another beautiful morning with an impressive exhibition that is understandable for adults, children, and young people alike. This exhibition provides food for thought and encourages the exchange of ideas. And... perhaps even more importantly, after this exhibition, I immediately felt like picking up my brushes myself.

Paul: Visit to the exhibition as a guest of the Amersfoort Neighborhood Jury, November 8, 2025 Jacob who? Lawrence? Never heard of him. That makes sense. A top artist in America,
virtually unknown here in the Netherlands and the surrounding area. And KAdE has the courage to organize the first major retrospective exhibition in Europe of this African-American painter (1917-2000).
To organize. And what an overview! Dozens of paintings, drawings, screen prints, on paper, canvas, hardboard, accompanied by original objects and materials that Lawrence himself used. All accompanied by detailed texts with explanations and commentary. With separate series, he honors people such as Harriet Tubman and John Brown, who personally committed themselves to the liberation of slaves. And also the craftsmen (the Builders) who helped rebuild the country, especially after the Second World War. An exhibition that you may have to visit two or three times to take it all in. My favorites from this exhibition? The paintings Lawrence made in Africa. What vibrant colors, they jump off the canvas! Still unsure whether to visit Lawrence? Don't delay, just go!

Salihanur: What I found most remarkable was how his work is structured: the contrast between hand-painted gouache works and screen prints is fascinating. Personally, I found the gouaches much more appealing; they are brighter, more direct, and immediately grab your attention. You can feel more energy in them. At the same time, I noticed that the exhibition was not always easy to understand. The background stories and historical context are essential to properly contextualize his work. Without that knowledge, you sometimes miss layers of meaning. The guided tour helped enormously in this regard; only then did I really get a grip on what I was seeing.

Sieto: KAdE is the first museum in Europe to organize a retrospective exhibition about him. He is a renowned painter in the US, but unknown here. In my opinion, this is unjustified. His work is impressive. I didn't really know what to expect beforehand. I found the themes of his early works impressive and the way they were created, such as the series of 60 works that were made as a kind of assembly line, fascinating. But I was neither hot nor cold about the paintings. Over the years, I found the pieces becoming more artistic and began to find them more fascinating. I recognized more of the cubism, the style with which Lawrence is labeled. Although the tour was an extra addition to the exhibition, I found it added value, causing me to look at the paintings differently. As a gauge of what I thought of them myself, the question is whether I would want to have a work on my wall. I wouldn't hang it prominently in my room, but there are paintings that I could hang temporarily.

Katja (guest): In addition to a wonderful selection from his authentic, colorful, narrative oeuvre, his life story is also impressive. And now let's hope that his work will be allowed to remain on display in American museums under the current reign of terror....
But what a whirlwind! Happy, embarrassed (that this oeuvre is still virtually unknown even in the European art world and that I had never heard of the Harlem Renaissance before), but satisfied, we left the exhibition, which is best enjoyed in small doses. See you again soon!

Frank: Rarely have I seen such a beautiful, magnificent, large retrospective exhibition. Even those words don't do this exhibition justice. IMPRESSIVE, HISTORICAL, CHARGED (especially at this moment in time!). The Kunsthal Kade has managed to arrange more than 150 works from all over America.
Jacob Lawrence is a storyteller from about 100 years ago who translated and depicted this in beautiful paintings and drawings. The history of black Americans is portrayed so beautifully, I love it. I think his most beautiful series is the “MIGRATION SERIES,” which tells the story of the migration from the south to the north of America. It's so clever how he has depicted this on the 60 panels and also how the series came about. He was still relatively young and was able to depict the migration well from his imagination on the panels. All 60 panels have also been treated with the same color, each and every one of them, so clever! HATS OFF, and this really deserves to be written in capital letters, to Kunsthal Kade, which has worked so hard on this exhibition.

Hatice: I am very impressed by his life story and the way it resonates in his work. Lawrence uses powerful colors and clean lines to tell compelling stories, as seen in his Migration Series, for example. Overall, the exhibition touched me deeply. I left with a better understanding of his message and with respect for how he manages to portray social issues in his art.

Appie: This exhibition is being shown in Europe for the first time. People are coming from far and wide to see it. How KAdE exhibits: They are so good at this: lighting, sequence, height, the spaces, the walking routes. Everything is very well done and with great attention to detail. The heirs entrusted it to KAdE, and that says a lot. There were a number of very personal items on display, such as a duffel bag with personal texts and a paint box with paint and brushes. It's wonderful that those brushes helped create the work we saw. There was so much to see, so many stories and so many works. I will definitely come back.

Rebecca: Amersfoort Neighborhood Jury visits Jacob Lawrence at Kunsthal KAdEThe colors Jacob uses are deep and complex. He uses them in seemingly simple planes, and the entire series of sixty canvases is constructed from the same four or five colors. The aim is to make the story as accessible and appealing as possible. There is a lot of explanation to read alongside the paintings, which helps me to appreciate the importance of his work even more. It is never patronizing, but deepens my understanding of segregation, which still has deep and ugly roots in contemporary society. Something inside me is touched and rejoices: “This story must be told and seen!” It is impossible to describe all the impressions, feelings, and thoughts that come to mind while walking through the exhibition. What I find particularly beautiful are the four works of art created by artist and caregiver Barbara Earl Thomas. Tears come to my eyes when I experience the expressiveness and warmth of her works. Here I stand face to face with Jacob Lawrence and his wife. I am going to visit the exhibition at least twice more to absorb it even better. How lucky I am to be here and to see this work!