Selection committee
Admission to the Masters of Realism is preceded by an assessment of the work by a selection committee consisting of four art experts. If at least three members have a positive opinion about the submitted works, admission can take place if the Masters of Realism has an open position.
The members of the selection committee have each earned their spurs in the Dutch art world. Below you will find an overview and a short description.
David Gutiérrez
David was born in Montoro, a small town in Andalusia, in the south of Spain. He studied various subjects for half his life: pharmacy and orthopedics in Granada and optometry in Madrid. At the same time, he learned English and Taekwondo and obtained the brown belt. He currently works as a pharmacist and optician and at the same time develops his passion for art.
He is the founder of The Almenara Collection and The Almenara Art Prize. The Almenara Collection aims to support living artists through various activities and projects.
The Almenara Art Prize offers economic support to artists and a great opportunity to promote their work and distinguishes itself through its categories and prizes. Accepted works, finalists and winners remain on display on our website and social media. The exhibition of the selected works in Córdoba, Spain, and the awards gala are not to be missed.
Andre Lichtschlag
“I was born in 1968 in a small town in the Rhineland and studied political science, economics and sociology in Bonn. Since 1998 I have been an entrepreneur and publish books and magazines.
I never really had a thing for modern art, until one day I was walking past a gallery and caught a glimpse of a photo-realistic XXL painting, which I mistook for a large-format photograph, but which intrigued me. I got closer and closer to the artwork…. and since this “awakening experience,” I have been fascinated by photorealist and other forms of realistic painting.
Together with the Swiss artist Christoph Eberle and my daughter Lisa Lichtschlag, I created in early 2025 VERMEER Magazine – International Art Magazine for Contemporary Realism – founded, where I serve as publisher and editor-in-chief.”
David van der Linden
David van der Linden, together with his partner René Renders, opened Galerie Bonnard in Nuenen in 2017. In recent years, they have built up a particularly strong collection with ‘Modern Realism’ as the common thread. Exhibitions are organized with around 100 European artists. In the past 8 years, Bonnard has grown into an internationally leading gallery, where artists are happy to be seen.
Klassieke Academie & Imperial Academy of Arts
David completed his five-year study at the Klassieke Academie in Groningen, initially not to become an artist but to ‘understand’ how a painting is made. During that period, he stayed in St. Petersburg for two months at ‘The Imperial Academy of Arts’. Painting and drawing from a live model (portrait and nude model) was approached here in a completely different way than we know from the Klassieke Academie in Groningen or the academies in Italy.
Independent artist
In addition to his role as gallery owner, David remains active as an artist himself. His own work consists of free work and commissioned work, it hangs internationally with clients and has been sold through several galleries and art fairs.
Masters of Realism
“The idea is good and an initiative like this to bring the art world together and map quality is of course to be applauded. It is then easy to criticize, but it is better to see how you can contribute to turning the criticism into something positive. I hope that by taking responsibility for the selection together with others, I can contribute to a higher quality of this platform. I think it is an honorable task, and I am proud that our gallery is a measure of high quality. I hope in this way to contribute to an international platform where not taste but quality is the common thread of the composition.”
Erik Hermida
Immediately after completing his studies in art history at the University of Amsterdam in 1987, Erik Hermida founded Onderneming & Kunst.
As director, Erik has initiated and organized many projects of various kinds at the interface of art and business, such as exhibitions, symposia, book productions and art fairs such as KunstRAI and Art on Paper Amsterdam.
In addition, Erik Hermida leads a team of professionals that is responsible for the art collections of many Dutch and foreign clients, including cruise ships of Holland America Line and Cunard and the super yachts of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
Anita Helmy
Artist, exhibitor, curator, art dealer, art auctions, art education and selection.
These tasks have been part of the more than forty years in which Anita Helmy has worked in art.
For the past 10 years, she has worked at Catawiki, where she helped many artists earn a regular income in the Direct from the artist category.
Among these artists, Anita also had a number of realistic masters under her care.
