Wilploo Collection

A love for art

Although Ingrid Blans has felt a deep love for art since early childhood—and began collecting as a teenager—it is only in recent years that she has come to accept that she truly is a collector. “To me, an art collector is someone with an unlimited budget, who enables artists to create their work. I never saw myself in that role.” And yet, Blans is a collector through and through. Someone who surrounds herself with objects made with care, craftsmanship, and a keen sense of beauty. And someone who, at times, couldn’t resist a piece—and had to give up something else in return.

Personal connection

The Blans collection has taken shape over a period of more than sixty years, evolving alongside her life and the changing currents in the art world. In her younger years, she was captivated by the spirit of freedom in the work of artists like Lucebert, Kees van Bohemen, and Serge Vandercam, who expressed a new post-war vitality through their spontaneous, abstract works. Over time, her focus shifted more toward contemporary drawing and printmaking, primarily by Dutch artists. When she returned to Enschede in 2007 after living and working in The Hague, many local artists caught her attention and became part of her collection. Her personal connection to the artists whose work she collects runs like a red thread through the entire collection.