Rik Fernhout

Rik Fernhout (Amsterdam, 26 January 1959 - Rotterdam, 5 August 2024 ) was trained as a specialist for Modern and Contemporary Art at the auction house Sotheby's and was one of the first registered valuers in this field in the Netherlands. After working at Sotheby's Amsterdam department of Modern and Contemporary Art for 14 years, in 1997 he decided to concentrate on painting and writing and resigned from his position at Sotheby's.

Since leaving Sotheby's he exhibits regularly (including the exhibition 4 generaties Toorop/Fernhout in the Utrecht Centraal Museum), wrote for several magazines and published 'Het Nederlandse Kunstboek' (2000, Waanders publishers, with Colin Huizing) as well as articles for museums and artists. He also curated several exhibitions for Museum Kranenburgh in Bergen (N.H). 

In 2000 he joined Dutch Art Institute, first as a tutor, later as an advisor and project leader. As a project leader he was, amongst others, responsible for the organisation of the projects 'The Big Communication' (Nanjing, China), and the Damascus and Diyarbakir workshops of Here as the Centre of the World.

For the last couple of years of his tenure, he took care of all formal logistics in relation to a student's trajectory at the DAI - from the day of enrollment to the day of graduation and beyond. He was also supervising the various assesment procedures of the DAI.