TALENT
Cecile Wentges
A bridge between art and commerce Five years ago Cecile Wentges decided to turn her life around. She gave up her job at Rotterdam tank storage provider Vopak and applied for a place at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. She was accepted. Her graduation project was pretty special: she literally forged a bridge between two worlds. Wentges studied economics and has a master’s degree in
handed. ‘F*** it,’ she thought. ‘I’m going to make a bridge
finance. She enjoyed student life in Amsterdam and joined
between the Rietveld and Loyens & Loeff.’ Her artistic and
the university’s student fraternity. Upon her graduation she
management experience stood her in good stead and she
landed a well-paid management job at Vopak that helped
quickly came up with a project to suit both parties.
support her comfortable lifestyle. But she wasn’t happy. ‘I’m surprised I lasted that long. I wanted to explore my creative
She used simple scaffolding to build the bridge between the
side,’ Wentges says. She realised she needed to take drastic
two buildings. ‘It wasn’t just about the object but also about
action. ‘I wanted to become an artist.’
the ”happening”. The construction of the bridge was meant to help unite separate worlds,’ Wentges explains. ‘I invited people
From the windows of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy she had a
from both my old and my new world to lend a hand so they
clear view of the goings-on at the office of law firm Loyens &
could meet and satisfy their mutual curiosity.’
Loeff. ‘I could see a friend of mine working away at his desk. I literally looked into my old world from my new world,’ says
This special bridge is more than a personal project. It is also
Wentges. ‘This was during my first year at art school and even
about creating a link between a troubled art sector and
then I knew I wanted to make a connection between the
commerce, without the former having to forfeit its integrity.
corporate world and the world of art.’
That might be a tall order but Wentges seems to have found a clever and very creative way of achieving just that.
Until two months ago Cecile intended to paint a storage silo for her final project. The plan fell through and Cecile was left empty-
Text: Merel Hurkmans • Photography: nadiafotografeert
47.