19/08/2025
Tomorrow the waters of Amsterdam will come alive. After ten long years, the tall ships return — proud silhouettes of canvas and wood gliding into the IJ. It is the legendary SAIL-in, when the world’s most beautiful sailing vessels gather to greet the city once more.
⚓️ This tradition began in 1975, a gift to Amsterdam for her 700th anniversary. What started as a celebration has become one of the world’s grandest nautical events — where history, craftsmanship, and imagination meet upon the waves.
🎨 Just around the corner from the harbor, at TERTIUS GALLERY, another fleet has taken form. In his exhibition ‘Paper Fleet – Myth and Memory Afloat’, South African artist DIEK GROBLER launches fragile vessels of paper into seas of color and memory. Created especially for this moment — for SAIL Amsterdam and the city’s 750th year — his gouache works echo the majesty of tomorrow’s tall ships, but whisper in a more intimate, philosophical tongue.
One such work, ‘Keeping up Appearances’ (2025, gouache on paper, 610 × 460 mm incl. frame), is part of this fleet. At once playful and profound, it carries paper boats across currents of myth and reflection — vessels as fragile as time itself.
Come and step ashore. Witness how a fleet of paper boats can hold as much wonder as a fleet of masts on the horizon.
📍 TERTIUS GALLERY, Prinsengracht 266, Amsterdam
🗓️ 18 August – 19 October 2025