Nico Koster: Appel and Lennon
Nico Koster | Appel and Lennon 27 September 2025 – 25 January 2026
Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof in Maastricht presents an exhibition of Dutch press photographer Nico Koster from 27 September 2025 until 25 January 2026. The exhibition Appel and Lennon shows a selection of his most striking images, featuring vibrant portraits of painter and sculptor Karel Appel alongside black-and-white photographs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s legendary peace protest in Amsterdam.
As a versatile photographer, Nico Koster captured the news up close for daily newspaper De Telegraaf from 1963 to 1988. With a keen eye for the human story and a strong sense of composition, he documented the world of politics and conflict as well as that of art and culture. His work offers a unique visual record of the second half of the twentieth century.
For more than sixty years, the photographer turned his lens on art painters. He visited them in their studios, gained their trust, and became good friends with several artists. For thirty years, he captured the flamboyant life of Karel Appel (1921-2006) in world cities such as Amsterdam, New York, Paris, and Tokyo. On the occasion of Appel’s 100th birthday in 2021, a monograph was published in collaboration with Jaski Gallery.
In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel for their famous Bed-In for Peace. By spending a week in bed and inviting the international press, the newlyweds drew attention to world peace. Nico Koster witnessed this historic honeymoon and took iconic photos of the couple.
Nico Koster (1940) lives and works in Amsterdam. In 1975 he earned a second prize at World Press Photo, and in 1983 he was awarded the prestigious Silver Camera. In 1988, Koster founded Jaski Gallery in Amsterdam, focusing on Cobra artists. In addition to numerous exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad, his extensive oeuvre, with thousands of images of celebrities as well as everyday life on the street, has been published in many photo books.
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