"In Minerva Meets Leipzig, the museum in Assen presents a selection of recent acquisitions from 2020/2021, including its two latest additions: Die Lesenden by Matthias Ludwig and Sturm II by Jan Dörre. The exhibition also features works by German artists such as Tilo Baumgärtel, Rosa Loy, and David Schnell, alongside pieces from Minerva Academy artists, including Hans Hoekstra, Natasja Bennink, and Pieter Pander. From his studio in Haren, a village in the northeast of the Netherlands, Hans Hoekstra paints what surrounds him—interiors, views, and houseplants. At first glance, his subjects may seem mundane, reflecting the subdued atmosphere of the Dutch northeast. Yet Hoekstra transforms these everyday scenes, creating tension and liveliness through contrasts. His canvases play with positive and negative space, mixing realism with abstraction—a kettle rendered in detail beside cartoonish tea glasses, or a vibrant shadow play across a stark white table."