Adrie Reinders

Sanraku, 704 Sutter Street, San Francisco, www.sanraku.com

When asking my hotel concierge for a good Japanese restaurant, he recommended Sanraku – a japanese Sushi restaurant known to many in California as one of the top sushi places in the county (confirmed by it winning an award for best Sushi in 2006). After having sampled its fares, I can only confirm this statement. Japanese food is one of my favourites. Having spent many years “in training” whilst doing business with companies such as Mitsui and my good friend Hideo Ito, fmr Chairman of Toshiba N&S America, I have gathered a little knowledge about how good Sushi should taste. Sanraku met all the highest qualifications,  fresh fresh fresh, top quality seafood flown in especially from Japan. Comfort and service is traditional Japanese style.

My menu consisted of a California Roll with King Crab, Spicy Tuna Maki and ofcourse my favourity handroll Salmon/Avocado. For desert I had a homemade dessert, which was like a caramel flan.

Food: 9
Service: 8
Comfort: 7.5
Price/Quality: 8.5

If you like Sushi, an absolute must whilst in San Francisco.

Gallery Nico Koster, Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 44, 1017 DG Amsterdam
T: +31 20 7769991

Mid 80’s I started collected art in earnest – mostly based on dutch art post World War II.
The core of my collection was the famous painter Jan Sierhuis, from Amsterdam – and via him I came into contact with a variety of other painters such as Karel Appel, Lucebert, Corneille and many others. Next to the paintings themselves, which to me enrich my ife, I also added many contacts over the years with Gallery owners, musea directors (Rudi Fuchs) and was I honored to cooperate with Jan Sierhuis and Peter Halley to publish books about their art. In all, I met many art-loving, likeminded people all over the world.

It shows that if you have a common interest, it isn’t actually that hard to make new connections. People in such an environment are often prepared to help you with new introductions. There are many passtimes that bring you into contact with a specific group, often a totally different then the one you would ordinarily speak to in your daily occupation. This is one of the reasons I always promote developing your general knowledge and broad interests so that you know a little bit more then average about things that come your way. Until today, I have hundreds of people around the globe that I know I can reach out to, whom I have gotten to know through our joint passion for art.

Hereby a short description of Jan Sierhuis,
Sierhuis grew up during the years of the post WW1 depression. His father died when he was only 2 years old. During his early youth he took to drawing and working with clay, and was given a painters set when he was nine. As a boy he often would make long rambles through Amsterdam. He grew up with the many city scenes we know from Breitner and Israëls, representing a city full of simple people, working hard to survive. But also a city with a lot of joie de vivre and solidarity. Whilst Sierhuis travelled extensively during his later years, he remains a true Amsterdammer at the core of his being.

Instead of going to the Academy of art, he was sent to a local trade school to become a house-painter instead. This vocational training gave him the knowledge and understanding of the materials he would use to his benefit later on.

He, together with Appel, Corneille and Lucebert, is at the centre of post-war developments in Art. During 1945 he is admitted to the evening study at the “Rijksacademie” which he leaves again after a falling out. He is involved with the Experimentalists in 1947 and the CoBrA group in 1948. He does not join them however as he is considered too young.

Development of his work

Jan Sierhuis is above all an expressionist. He finds his inspiration with the masters like Cézanne, Matisse, Van Gogh and Picasso.
In his early years, he paints naturalistic landscapes. Impressed by the sheer power of abstrahism during the 50’s and 60’s he works in abstracts for a period of time. His work up until the 60s s mostly classifiable as Expressionism. After that you see a period during which his work is overwhelmingly about human figures. After that Sierhuis changes into more figurative themes such as dancing figures, portraits and landscapes.

During the summermonths, Jan Sierhuis lives mainly in Spain with his family. He develops a passion for Flamenco there which dance influences his work greatly. The flamenco inspires him in the last years to start working in 3D.

Exhibitions

Jan Sierhuis has had tentoonstellingen in the Netherlands, France, Mexico, Argentinia, Switzerland, Dutch Antilles, Colombia, Ireland, United States, Sweden, Denmar, Norway, Germany, Poland and Japan.

For those of you wanting to see a real Sierhuis – you can currently find a number of his paintings at Galery Nico Koster on the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat – all from his Flamenco period, rich, expressive, full of colour and dynamic. Worth a visit.

The Wapping Project, London, www.wappingproject.com

Yesterday I had lunch in the Wapping Project. The location is a former Hydraulic Power Station. The building was left intact, including even some of the turbines and other machinery. Now it is a combination of restaurant, winebar, art gallery and bookstore.
It is called “Project” as it has continuously changing exhibitions and is therefore never considered finished…

The building is located, as the name implies, in Wapping – one of the old docks of London with now converted and renovated warehouses, narrow cobblestone streets and directly located on the Thames. It’s a very nice neighbourhood, particularly on a spring day in March.

I had Jamon Iberico Bellota as a starter and Hake (a whitefish) wrapped in pancetta as a main – a wonderfully tasty dish, interesting combination of flavours and well prepared. My desert was Apple Pie with cinnamon icecream – a real treat.
Services was good and the comfort very good.

The Wapping Project is a definite recommendation due to its special atmosphere and excellent food.

Food: 8.5
Service: 7.5
Comfort: 8
Price/Quality: 8
Atmosphere: 9