"The value of art is to to extent it touches you"
Okakura Kakuzo, The book of Tea
My practice engages with the value of art. The essence of the value of art is so simply captured in this sentence. An answer and a beginning to my pursuit. I see art as an actor with its own voice - its value lies in the quality of our connection.
This writing connects Japanese ways of art appreciation with contemporary views from sociology on our relations with objects - drawing from Hartmut Rosa, Erich Fromm and Bruno Latour - and with the sensuous being with nature and the environment I was raised into by my Norwegian mother and grandparents and cultivated further through Indigenous readings.
I embody, create and curate frameworks, spaces, objects and gestures that deepen our connection with art, allowing it to become a living influence in our lives.
The early passing of my mother during my teens, in a time of great turmoil, initiated a search for meaning. It stirred in me a need to find spaces that could hold the complexity of grief, beauty, and life itself. My connection to art became a place of healing, a place where I felt a sacredness, something that could hold what words could not. Over time, this personal inquiry grew into a wish to share that sense of resonance with others. It shaped in me a deep intention to create spaces that offer grounding, presence, and connection—spaces where deep resonance and sacredness might unfold.
Raised with a deep sensitivity to art, objects, fashion, and architecture, I began my path in macroeconomics, drawn to systems, structures, and the question of value. My studies in International Economics & Finance, combined with Art History and an internship at Christie’s, laid an early foundation. Yet it was the pursuit of another way that ultimately shaped me.
In 2016, I met my mentor and dear friend, Professor Ard Huizing, who introduced me to the work of Bruno Latour. Ongoing conversations with my close friend, philosopher and artist Erik Rietveld (RAAAF), whose thinking on affordances and their manifestations has been deeply influential, cultivated my perspective. These dialogues eventually led me to the philosophy of resonance by Hartmut Rosa, which I explored more deeply with Berber Meindertsma.
Being introduced to the Art of Hosting through IMPACT HUB, and training with the Marina Abramović Institute, allowed me to further ground these ideas in embodied and relational practice.
These shared explorations have formed the foundation of my current understanding of the value of art. At the Sandberg Institute, I deepened this inquiry into the transformational power of art, its capacity for resonance, and the subtle art of hosting.
I embody, create, curate, and commission frameworks and spaces that cultivate resonance. These are living expressions of my ongoing research into the value of art.
My practice is shaped by sociological theories such as Hartmut Rosa’s Resonance, Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory, and Erich Fromm’s To Have or To Be and The Art of Loving; by the Japanese way of art appreciation; and by the lived wisdom passed down from my Norwegian mother and grandparents through our shared family home.
“Resonance is produced when one body’s frequency stimulates the other to produce its own frequency.”
The theory of resonance shows how the touch of a Comme des Garçons dress, an artwork, a chapel, or a landscape could evoke a similar dynamic, each holding the potential to move with us.
Resonance is a mode of being and always arises within an accommodating space. You cannot design resonance, only create the conditions for it to emerge. How we enter or feel in a space defines, to a certain extent, our capacity for connection and the quality of those connections. I define the creation of such conditions as hosting. As with all works of art, the quality of hosting is formed from the outset through genuine intention, and it unfolds through the quality of our connections we make. Resonance brings forth resonance.
In alignment with my philosophy Dailyvote - that with every action we take, we cast a vote for the world we wish to be part of - I am conscious and sincere in the selection of my hosting ensemble. I work alongside creative minds, embodied objects, and craftspeople, forming a hosting ensemble within a shared taste regime grounded in the philosophy of Dailyvote. Our taste regime is an expression of our values and desires. A shared taste regime holds a trust upon which we are able to build. Many of those I have worked with have become close friends, allowing us to grow and develop together.
I was taught through presence, through leading by example. I learned to listen to the rhythms of nature, to the silence between movements, and to the memory held in objects. I was shown how architecture and objects carry us, just as we carry them. Untangling a fishing net with patience, or tending to our family home, became acts of attention and devotion. It is this sensitivity, attention, and presence that I carry into my practice. I seek to create and hold space within the art field with the same intention and devotion.
This embodied awareness within hosting is deepened through my practices of Gaga dance, Aikido, and meditation. The durational and performative work of Marina Abramović - especially her course Cleaning the House, which brings ancient meditative rituals into contemporary practice - continues to resonate with me.
These practices inform how I approach space, energy, and intention, and guide me toward a practice of performative hosting.
I initiate projects and work with art institutions, foundations, and private clients.
Currently, I serve as chair of the AF Ensemble foundation, continuing the legacy of Frances de Rijck van der Gracht and Ard Huizing. Each year, we honour a moment of schoonheid - where inner and outer beauty resonate - and develop a new artwork in collaboration with the artist or artists whose work has been awarded.
As a commission member of The Peggy Fund, I contribute to systemic change in the Dutch art field by supporting the acquisition of works by female artists and amplifying their presence in public collections.
I also act as procurator for Impact Hub Amsterdam on behalf of an investor, supporting its mission to accelerate the transition to a sustainable society and economy, as part of a global network.
Art has touched, moved, transformed, and healed me, nurturing a deep inner wisdom. It is this that I wish to share and hold space for in others.
Love, Stephanie
THE WAY
PRACTICE
ESSENCE