The Hero With a Thousand Faces IRENE DE BOER, JAN DIETVORST, CHRIS COGAN & PIERRE TOL, DELPHINE COURTILLOT, FOLKERT DE JONG, SVEN ’T JOLLE, JANTIEN JONGSMA, BART NIJSTAD, JOCKUM NORDSTRÖM, KLAAS ROMMELAERE, ROBERT TAPLIN, DIRK ZOETE

n 2019 Dirk Zoete (1969) had an exhibition entitled So Called Human in Galerie Maurits van de Laar. Folkert de Jong (1972) visited the show and saw in Zoete’s work a mentality that he encountered in several artists. You can characterize it as searching one’s own path, apart from or even against prevailing trends, for a source and form of expression that is very personal, disarming and sometimes naive. The image of a pilgrim for whom the journey and not the final destination is most important came up. The title The Hero with A Thousand Faces is derived from Joseph Campbell’s study in which he analyzes various myths and archetypes with which people try to interpret the world.

Folkert de Jong, together with Jan Dietvorst (1953) and the gallery, selected a group of artists, which De Jong and Dietvorst describe as follows. “In the classic model of the Wild West film, the protagonist rides out of town on his horse after the shoot-out. He has just freed the community from a crime but does not wait for reward. By being unfettered, his judgment remains pure. In the deserted main street he acted only according to his inner conviction".

He moves on like a pilgrim, arriving somewhere is less important than being on the road every day. In the self-chosen simplicity of his existence you suspect knowledge and wisdom. The Hero with A Thousand Faces is an exhibition about the similarities between pilgrims, mystics, cowboys and priestesses.”