Jan Roos – on the Border Between Land and Sea

About this activity.

Jan Roos (1951), born and still residing in Harlingen, is one of the most important Frisian painters. His work is deeply rooted in the harbour and landscape of his hometown. From February 21 to June 7, 2026, Museum Belvédère will host the exhibition Jan Roos – on the Border Between Land and Sea, featuring an extensive selection of monumental harbour scenes from the artist’s studio. Most of these works have never been shown in a museum before.

Roos studied art at the Vredeman de Vries Academy in Leeuwarden and the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. In the 1970s, he was influenced by the German art movement Die Neue Wilden, but unlike these artists who often focused on contemporary themes and activism, Roos dedicated himself to painting from observation, directly in the open air. Upon returning to Harlingen, he found his primary themes in the harbour areas of his city – from the shipyard near his home to the industrial harbour, the fish auctions, floating docks, and piers.

To work quickly on-site, Roos swapped oil paints for acrylics, which dry faster, and canvas for sturdy shipping paper that he found at the harbour. He often painted on the ground, crouched or sitting on his knees, which allowed him to immerse himself in the moment, surrounded by the sounds, smells, and sensations of the harbour. Roos’s work is a sensory experience that goes beyond the visual; the act of hearing, smelling, and feeling the environment also plays an essential role.

What makes Roos unique is how he not only captures the activity of the harbour but transforms it into powerful, melancholic images that convey both the grandeur and the transience of the surroundings.

Roos himself says about his work: "That spectacular blue welding light that, at dusk, gives the surroundings a completely different appearance for a brief moment. I only had about five minutes to capture it, because that’s how long it took before the welding rod needed to be replaced. That light appears in many of my works."

Under his painter’s hand, his subjects transcend into equally powerful and melancholic images, showing us both the beauty and the fleeting nature of what occurs on the border between land and sea.

Museum Belvédère.

Location.

Museum Belvédère
Oranje Nassaulaan 12
8448 MT Heerenveen
www.museumbelvedere.nl/nl/