Under the Pavement: Tanja Smeets on Materials, Collaboration & Growth
Episode 40
Anastasia Parmson, Tanja Smeets
4/7/20262 min read
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A conversation with Dutch artist Tanja Smeets, whose site-specific installations employ diverse and industrial materials (concrete spacers, leaf catchers, textiles, ceramics and 3D-printed steel) to create large scale works that appear to grow organically from architecture and cityscapes.
Guided by her catchphrase “Under the pavement the roots are whirling,” Tanja's practice reveals what it takes to work at the intersection of art, craft, technology and collaboration.
Key insights from this episode:
• Why art school felt like failure
• Finding and transforming unusual materials
• Residencies at TextielLab and European Ceramic Work Center: pushing porcelain through frying sieves, learning embroidery and more
• The volcano eruption: teaching an assistant to knot lentils into lycra via Zoom when flights were grounded
• Miami airport interrogation: five suitcases, a letter and threatening border patrol agents with a lecture on art
Tanja Smeets is a Dutch artist based in Utrecht. Her work has been exhibited internationally including Manifesta and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. See her work in person at Westerpark, Amsterdam (permanent public sculpture) and Centraal Museum, Utrecht (permanent installation in historic staircase).
03:24 Favorite Quote – Under the Pavement the Roots Are Whirling
09:35 The Iceland Trip That Changed Everything
15:49 From Painting to Installation – When Everything Clicked
20:10 A Government Building Commission – Dripping Through Multiple Floors
22:50 How the Opportunities Started Coming
29:24 TextielLab – Combining Felt with Leaf Catchers
33:09 European Ceramic Work Center Residency
47:47 When the White Cube Doesn’t Work
48:52 Manifesta Barcelona – Installing on 5th-Century Graves
51:17 Building Solo vs Working with Teams
56:33 The Commercial Question – “I’m Always Disappearing into Big Installations”
01:02:10 Miami Airport – Five Suitcases and the Threat of a Lecture
01:06:56 MX3D Collaboration – 3D-Printed Stainless Steel
01:11:43 Finding Technical Collaborators and Pushing Boundaries
01:17:09 Dream Project
01:20:00 Advice for Emerging Artists
Opening of solo exhibition and launch of new publication and film about Tanja’s work: 11 April 2026 at the Utrecht in Leeuwarden.
The book can be ordered via studiotanjasmeets@gmail.com
You can find out more about her work at https://www.tanjasmeets.nl/ and follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/studiotanjasmeets/
Also mentioned in this episode:
Dyckman Farmhouse Museum: https://dyckmanfarmhouse.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/dyckmanfarmhouse
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen: https://www.boijmans.nl/en | https://www.instagram.com/boijmans/ TextielMuseum: https://textielmuseum.nl/en | https://www.instagram.com/textielmuseum/
TextielLab: https://textiellab.nl/en European Ceramic Work Centre: https://ekwc.nl/en/ | https://www.instagram.com/ekwc_oisterwijk/
David Lynch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch
Eraserhead: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074486/
Blue Velvet: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090756/
Kunsthal KAdE: https://www.kunsthalkade.nl/en/ | https://www.instagram.com/kunsthal_kade_amersfoort | https://www.youtube.com/user/KUNSTHALKADE
Manifesta: https://manifesta.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/manifestabiennial/
Mondriaan Fund: https://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/en/homepage-2/ | https://www.instagram.com/mondriaanfonds/
Museum of Arts And Design: https://madmuseum.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/madmuseum
Museum Vizcaya: https://vizcaya.org/ | https://www.instagram.com/vizcaya_museum/ | @VizcayaMuseum
Westerpark: https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/explore/neighbourhoods/westerpark | https://www.instagram.com/iamsterdam
MX3D: https://mx3d.com/ | https://www.instagram.com/mx3d.metal.printing/ | @officialMX3D
Centraal Museum Utrecht: https://www.centraalmuseum.nl/en | https://www.instagram.com/centraalmuseum
