In September 2019 the Draped Spaces series was exhibited at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery as part of the Dutch Colorists show that Pieter conceptualized and co-curated together with Ben Shattuck.

Dutch Colorists is a group show, in 2019 it included the work of Barbara Rink (whose work is shown in the invitation above), Daniel Mullen, Pieter de Bruyn Kops, Rob Bouwman, Willem van der Weide, and Neil Fortune. These artists, all living and working in the Netherlands, represent an exciting new artistic movement; though they are not consciously a group nor work in the same medium, their work revolves almost entirely around color.

“Abstract Colorism is a celebration of light, of creativity, of painting.
Color helps us define new forms of spatiality.”

The show captures a bright phenomenon and highlights another stage in Dutch painting: the spatial, playful, and abundant use of color.

2 Dark Bodies in Space #4
guache on canvas, 40×50 cm, 2019
private collection

Dark Space Dark Matter

opening: March 21, 2019       17:30-20:30

an Approximation of a Navajo Chief’s Blanket
60 x 80 cm, guache on canvas, 2019
private collection

OODE
Singel 159 a, Amsterdam
thurs/fri/sat/sun 12:00-18:00

Slug #1
60 x 90 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
private collection

This series is a continuation of a fascination with the projectile that started with the Bouncy Balls. In this case the series focuses on the bullet or “Slug“.

The identity of the projectile is derived from the fleeting moment in which it is put to use, and by definition into motion. In the Slug series, the individual bullets are displayed as iconic monoliths, thereby achieving a certain monumentality. The dark, black-based palette is a continuation of the Dark Space Dark Matter series and fits the loaded subject well. As with all of Pieter’s recent paintings, ambiguity is achieved by controlling the way in which the object is portrayed. It is literally a bullet, but can and is more often seen as something different.

Slug #2
60 x 90 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
private collection

Slug #3,
60 x 90 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
private collection

Slug #4
60 x 90 cm, guache on canvas, 2017
private collection

Slug #5
60 x 90 cm, guache on canvas, 2017
private collection

Blackstar
40 x 50 cm, guache on canvas, 2015-2016
private collection

This series of works focuses on the fundamental relationship in painting between the figure and the ground. By using a limited palette of red-black & blue-black a certain value can be assigned to each, and the focus is placed further on the distinction between the two. Pieter continued to use this palette in the Slug series.

In Dark Space Dark Matter inspiration is found in the astrophysical macro scale of the cosmos as well as in the micro scale of microbial biology. In this series Pieter uses the medium of painting to greatly limit variables so that the relationship between an object and its background can be isolated and in so doing, better seen.

Rod in Space
20 x 50 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
 

Blue Body in Red Space
70 x 90 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
 

Dark Space Dark Matter #1
200 x 90 cm, oil on canvas, 2016
 

Dark Space Dark Matter #2
90 x 60 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
private collection

Red Bouncy Ball
40×50 cm, guache on canvas, 2014
private collection

A fascination for the Bouncy Ball and more generally the projectile begins when the Red Bouncy Ball comes to rest at his feet. Upon picking it up he is struck with the urge to document this thing in paint. What follows is an intention to render these balls flat, iconic, and scaleless thereby allowing the viewer to focus on the individual surface compositions of the balls while leaving room for interpretation and meaning.

Big Blue Bouncy Ball
80×100 cm, guache on canvas, 2015
private collection

The identity of a projectile is derived from the fleeting moment in which it is put to use, and by definition into motion. In the Bouncy Ball series, the individual balls are displayed as isolated circles of colours, thus achieving a focused, monolithic state. The palette, based largely on primaries, is a faithful reproduction of the colours given to these rubber balls at the time of their manufacturing and fit the playful subject well. As with all of Pieter’s recent paintings, ambiguity is achieved by controlling the way in which the object is portrayed. It is literally a bouncy ball, but can be seen as something else.

The fascination for the projectile is continued most directly in the Slug series.

White Bouncy Ball
40×50 cm, guache on canvas, 2015
private collection

This series marks Pieter’s return to painting

Yellow-Green Bouncy Ball with Ground
55×95 cm, guache on canvas, 2016

Checkered Bouncy Ball
40×50 cm, guache on canvas, 2015
private collection

Pink and Blue Bouncy Ball
40×50 cm, guache on canvas, 2014
private collection

Imaginary Landscape
160 x 100 cm, guache on canvas, 2014-2016

a Building on Fire
90 x 150 cm, guache on canvas, 2014-2016

Abandoned Primate Enclosure
65 x 40 cm, guache on canvas, 2016
private collection

White Moon
40 x 65 cm, guache on canvas, 2016