Dr. Abe Jan Koldijk
Dr. Abe Jan Koldijk (1921-2015), a medical doctor and his wife Therese Meigen, met Heshmat through the daughter of a patient, Vicky [Braet/Praet?] who worked at the Belgian embassy in Cairo and was married to Heshmat’s brother Yousry (Interviews with Maike Koldijk-Winkelmann and Magda Heshmat, date follows). The couple visited the artist in his workspace in Ain Shams with their daughter Maike. In 1968, they organized an exhibition in Koldijk’s hometown Susteren. Abe Koldijk’s daughter Maike Koldijk-Winkelmann received a painting from Heshmat that same year on the occasion of her wedding. The Koldijk family brought together a large private collection of artworks and commissioned the design of his swimming pool in Susteren to the artist. Until the ZMO exhibition in 2025, it was unknown where these mosaics – of which photographs were circulating within the Heshmat family – had been installed. Once, the address was known through Maaike Muyssen (today Brügge), granddaughter of Koldijk and Meigen, Hegasy wrote a letter addressed “To the inhabitants of Marktstraat 12” in Susteren. Hanneke Dahlmans-Laugs responded, confirming that the mosaics were still in place. The Dahlmans-Laugs family had bought the house in 2015 following the death of Dr. Koldijk. All the years, the new owners had in fact wanted to restore the striking mosaics. Hanneke Dahlmans-Laugs expressed their interest in showing them to the public.