Jannes van Arkel is Sato Gallery’s promising new artist. Dutch, free-spirited, young, and enormously talented.

Born in Rotterdam in 1997, Jannes grew up in a family of artists who travelled frequently to far-flung places.

Torn between studying anthropology, history and art, he turned to advertising at the Willem de Kooning Academy, thinking he would find his interests converging there. Though disappointed by the commercial side of the course, his independent streak pushed him to use the tools he had acquired to subvert the system from within. He graduated with distinction, among the top of his year, with a striking installation shown at the Willem de Kooning Graduation Show in 2022.

Jannes started working with ceramics at the age of five, in a children’s workshop, revealing a natural gift for the discipline straight away. His monsters seemed to make themselves — a style he has kept developing over the years.

During his studies he had access to everything he needed to work with ceramics independently. After one formative experience, he returned to making his monsters, using ceramics as a means of expression and personal release. His background in advertising gives him a philosophical approach to art and to existence, prompting him to conceptualise and formulate theories as he works.

In 2023 he staged a ceramics exhibition in his Rotterdam studio, where every piece sold.

We are delighted to present Jannes’s work, and through him to open a window onto Rotterdam’s bold, conceptual art scene.