MICHAEL WOERNER. ORIGINS, Catalogue for TAF Amsterdam, October 2018

Within the circle of Tribal Art fairs worldwide, the Tribal Art Fair Amsterdam has
for many years cultivated and preserved its very own, distinguished position. It is
not a blue print copy of the standardized art fairs in New York, Paris or Brussels.
It intends to be different, of a “human” scale, personal, approachable, easily likeable
and with a wonderful local Dutch ambience. Treasures can be found here year
after year, at still reasonable prices. And indeed, merchants from New York,
Paris and Brussels, even Australia and Asia flock in to find works of art for future
exhibitions of their own.
It is a great delight for us to participate in this event
for the first time. As this is primarily a Tribal Art
Fair with a strong emphasis on Indonesia and
Oceania, the eminent merchant Loed van Bussel,
who sadly passed away earlier this year, once
suggested to entice its visitors with something
“new”: a small, focused exhibition on the roots
of Tribal Art in Indonesia & Oceania. After our
widely acclaimed 2015 exhibition in Brussels
“Dong Son – The Image of Man and Animal in
Early Southeast Asia”, we have the great pleasure to
present in Amsterdam “Origins – Prehistoric
Bronzes and Ornaments from Indonesia and
Mainland Southeast Asia”. May this small
publication be our heartfelt dedication to Loed.
All objects have been sourced from private
collections in Europe, Asia and the U.S.A. Several
of these objects have previously been published
or exhibited in museum shows. As always, every
object is accompanied by a detailed documentation.
Loed van Bussel (1935 – 2018)
We look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam.
MICHAEL WOERNER
Amsterdam, October 2018
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