I discovered the photographs of Steef Zoetmulder at the occasion of an exhibition in the Rotterdam Kunsthal. After moving through the different levels and corners of the building, we finally found the small room dedicated to his work. Zoetmulder photographed a wide range of topics, not so much for the sake of the topic but more to explore ways to show things, patterns, leaning towards abstraction. As often the case, the first pieces are classical in nature, where as the most recent work is more abstract. The pictures diplayed in Rotterdam give thereby a good overview of his evolution as an artist. I was particularly attracted to his distorded colourful woman, very representative of his evolution. Steef Zoetmulder is possibly a lesser known Dutch photographer, but certainly worth a new discovery. This exhibition was made possible due to the collaboration between the Univeristy of Leiden and several associations, to revive the work of this important artist. Hundreds of vintage prints and contact sheets were exumed from oblivion to be saved and displayed.
