Sacha Bronwasser on Art as Inspiration for Fiction: James Turrell's 'Hemels gewelf'

In an interview with Museumtijdschrift, bestselling author Sacha Bronwasser (1968) discusses how art serves as the catalyst for her short stories. For the magazine's summer issue (nr 5 • 2026), she wrote a literary story centered on James Turrell's land art piece 'Hemels gewelf' (1996), located in the dunes of Kijkduin, The Hague. Bronwasser explains that she always starts with an artwork, not a plot, and allows the image to generate a narrative over days or weeks. She values art that is ambiguous or disorienting, citing Turrell's work for its sensory distortion—altered sound and bodily discomfort—which inspired a tale about someone using the artwork to confuse others. Bronwasser, who studied art history and worked for two decades as an art critic for de Volkskrant, says looking at art taught her to write: 'Kunst is mijn gereedschapskist. Mijn voorraadkast ook.' Her debut novel 'Niets is gelogen' appeared in 2019, followed by 'Luister' (nominated for the Libris Literatuur Prijs in 2023, over 30 reprints), and the story collection 'De lotgevallen' (2024), where each story is triggered by a single artwork. She also contributed texts to Fiona Tan's 'Pickpockets' series, shown in Tan's 'Monomania' exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. Bronwasser finds fiction liberating compared to art criticism, as it frees her from having to judge. Her story 'Eenheid' appears in Museumtijdschrift nr 5 • 2026, available from July 7.