How a chance meeting at Sziget Festival introduced me to the remarkable work of Dutch artist Edwin Peters
By Hiren Kothari
Founder & Creative Director, Gallery Privé
There are moments in life that cannot be planned.
They arrive unexpectedly, often through a simple conversation, and quietly become part of your own story.
For me, one of those moments happened during Sziget Festival.
As Founder and Creative Director of Gallery Privé, I have been fortunate enough to meet artists, collectors, musicians and extraordinary personalities from around the world. Every exhibition creates new conversations, and every festival brings together people united by creativity. Yet every so often you meet someone with whom the connection feels immediate—as though you have known one another for years.
That is exactly what happened when I met Erik Peters and his partner, Sonja.
From our very first conversation there was an effortless chemistry. Throughout the duration of Sziget Festival we found ourselves spending time together almost every day. We talked about life,creativity, music, family, travel and, of course, art. Those conversations became one of my favourite memories from the festival.
Sometimes the greatest gift a festival can offer isn't a performance.
It's friendship.
As our friendship developed, Erik introduced me to the work of his father, the Dutch artist Edwin Peters.
That introduction became far more than simply discovering another painter.
It became the discovery of an artist whose work quietly reflects everything I admire about European landscape painting.
The Quiet Artist
Unlike many artists who seek attention through spectacle or controversy, Edwin Peters painted with remarkable restraint.
Born in Rotterdam, he later settled in the historic Dutch town of Brielle, where the surrounding countryside became an endless source of inspiration. Having studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam, Peters built a successful professional career as a graphic designer and illustrator while continuing to develop his own artistic practice.
His exhibitions featured landscapes, watercolours, gouaches and etchings that celebrated the subtle beauty of the Dutch landscape.
Rather than painting famous landmarks or dramatic scenes, Peters found inspiration in the ordinary.
The open fields.
The distant waterways.
The quiet skies.
The lonely trees.
These were not simply places.
They became emotions translated into paint.
Discovering the Collection
When Erik first shared his father's work with me, I was immediately captivated.
There is something profoundly honest about Edwin Peters' paintings.
They do not compete for attention.
They wait patiently for it.
One particular painting immediately stood out.
It wasn't simply a landscape.
It felt like a meditation.
At first glance, the eye is drawn towards a magnificent twisted tree standing proudly against an expansive sky. Time appears to have sculpted every branch, every curve and every fracture within its trunk.
Yet despite its age, it continues to stand.
Strong.
Elegant.
Unbroken.
Nearby stands a classical marble figure.
Silent.
Watching.
Almost ghost-like.
Fragments of ruined stone lie scattered throughout the foreground, gently suggesting forgotten civilisations, passing generations and the inevitable movement of time.
Beyond the darkness, the landscape slowly opens.
Soft light begins to appear.
Water glimmers quietly upon the horizon.
The entire composition feels suspended between memory and hope.
It is impossible to stand before the painting without creating your own story.
Perhaps that is exactly what Edwin Peters intended.
Painting Beyond Geography
Many landscape painters document locations.
Edwin Peters documented atmosphere.
His paintings are not about maps.
They are about emotion.
The Dutch landscape has long inspired artists, from the great Golden Age masters to contemporary painters, yet Peters approached it differently.
Rather than celebrating perfection, he embraced silence.
His skies remain heavy with possibility.
His trees appear weathered by experience.
His open spaces encourage reflection rather than movement.
Nothing feels hurried.
Everything breathes.
In today's world, where images appear and disappear within seconds across digital screens, there is something wonderfully refreshing about artwork that asks nothing more than for us to slow down.
The Language of Light
Perhaps the most remarkable quality within Edwin Peters' paintings is his understanding of light.
He rarely uses it dramatically.
Instead, light gently emerges.
Almost unnoticed.
The shadows remain soft.
The transitions subtle.
The distant horizon becomes less a destination than a promise.
This quiet mastery allows every painting to change depending upon the viewer's mood.
Visit the work one day and it may speak of solitude.
Return another day and it becomes hopeful.
Come back again and suddenly you begin noticing details that had remained invisible before.
Great paintings do exactly this.
They continue revealing themselves throughout a lifetime.
Why This Painting Matters
The painting within my own collection has become one of those works that repeatedly draws me back.
Each time I stand before it I notice something different.
Sometimes it is the extraordinary elegance of the twisted tree.
Sometimes it is the lonely statue quietly observing the landscape.
Sometimes it is simply the remarkable stillness that Edwin Peters was able to create.
In a world increasingly filled with noise, stillness has become a luxury.
Edwin Peters painted stillness better than many artists paint movement.
Friendship Through Art
One of the greatest privileges of working within the art world is discovering that behind every painting stands a family.
Behind every exhibition stands decades of dedication.
Behind every artist stands people who continue preserving their legacy.
Meeting Erik and Sonja reminded me that art never truly belongs to one generation.
It passes gently from parents to children.
From collectors to future collectors.
From one conversation to another.
Without meeting Erik, I may never have discovered Edwin Peters.
Without that friendship, these paintings may simply have remained unknown to me.
Sometimes art finds us.
Rather than the other way around.
A Lasting Legacy
Although Edwin Peters may not be widely recognised internationally, his paintings possess something that cannot be manufactured.
Authenticity.
They are honest.
They are deeply personal.
They remind us that extraordinary art does not always emerge from famous studios or international museums.
Sometimes it is created quietly within the home of an artist who simply wishes to paint the world as he feels it.
That sincerity is visible in every brushstroke.
It cannot be imitated.
Gallery Privé Perspective
At Gallery Privé, we have always believed that collecting art is about far more than acquiring beautiful objects.
Every artwork carries two histories.
The first belongs to the artist.
The second belongs to every person whose life is touched by that work.
For me, Edwin Peters represents both.
He represents a gifted Dutch painter whose landscapes deserve greater recognition.
But he also represents friendship.
A reminder that some of life's most meaningful discoveries happen entirely by chance.
Sziget Festival introduced me to Erik and Sonja.
Their friendship introduced me to Edwin Peters.
His paintings introduced me to a quieter way of seeing the world.
That journey alone makes this collection priceless.
Thank You
To Erik and Sonja
Thank you for your kindness, your friendship and your generosity.
Thank you for welcoming me into your story.
Most importantly, thank you for introducing me to Edwin Peters.
It is an honour to share his work through Gallery Privé and to celebrate an artist whose legacy deserves to be discovered by many more people.
Because sometimes the greatest masterpieces are not those that hang in the world's largest museums.
Sometimes they are quietly waiting to be rediscovered through friendship.
About Edwin Peters
Edwin Peters was born in Rotterdam and later lived in Brielle, where the surrounding Dutch landscape became a lifelong source of inspiration. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam, he worked professionally as a graphic designer and illustrator while developing his own artistic career. His exhibitions featured landscapes, watercolours, gouaches and etchings inspired by the polders, dunes and waterways of the Netherlands. His work is characterised by quiet composition, subtle light and an enduring sense of contemplation.
Gallery Privé believes that every collection tells a story, and every story deserves to be shared. This article is published in celebration of Edwin Peters, his artistic legacy, and the friendships that continue to keep that legacy alive.
Eric Peters and Sonja Montijn at Szget 2025
