Whoever thinks of a Contemporary Dutch Master pur sang thinks of Robert Zandvliet (Terband, 1970). His painting is now of international importance. It is not for nothing that it is included in extensive collections such as those of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The work floats between the world of abstraction and figuration; he says he needs one thing to express the other.
For Zandvliet, the research beforehand is just as relevant as the making process and the result of a painting. He looks at a canvas or a wall and asks himself: what is going on in those square meters that I have to fill? How can I make my idea clear to those who look at it? He believes that you should always keep asking questions about your work so that you can always take a step further in your development. This is one of the reasons why he completely recalibrates himself once in a while.
Last September, Zandvliet completed his mural and ceiling painting Metropolis Alley on the Kipstraat entrance of Het Industriegebouw for the HIM collection. The masterpiece is reminiscent of a walk in a large metropolitan city filled with skyscrapers. Perhaps a nod to how the cityscape of Rotterdam had changed in the past decade compared to when he still lived there? Or does it paint a futuristic picture of the Maasstad in the (near) future?
For more information about the artist, visit the Galerie Onrust site or listen to the HIG Podcast with Robert Zandvliet and Dore van Duivenbode.
galerieonrust.nl
