Under the Pavement: Tanja Smeets on Materials, Collaboration & Growth

I made a 3-minute listener survey to help shape the podcast's future. What's working? What's not? Who should I interview next? Your feedback genuinely matters. Fill out here: https://forms.gle/qqHJrMXpsC9UYu2m7

Get 15% off your .art domain name: https://get.art/?refdotart=art5044n9z17m

promo code: ART5044N9Z17M

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 | @dyckmanfarmhousemuseum8502

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/ @sundaymorningekwc6951

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/ | @Manifesta_foundation

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 | @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

The Installation Art Podcast is a show about people who love and work with the contemporary art medium of installation. The host Anastasia Parmson, an artist herself, interviews internationally renowned artists and arts workers about the intricacies and behind-the-scenes stories of creating and showing work that is site-specific, ephemeral, large scale or immersive.

🔔 Hit subscribe or follow wherever you’re listening to never miss a new episode.

📢 Follow us on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/installationartpodcast/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@installationartpodcast

📚 More information about the show and previous episodes: www.installationartpodcast.com

Your host Anastasia Parmson: www.anastasiaparmson.art https://www.instagram.com/anastasiaparmson.art/

Mentioned in this episode:

Get your .art domain name

https://get.art/?refdotart=art5044n9z17m promo code: ART5044N9Z17M