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24 april 2024, Flor Linckens

In Memoriam: Jan Commandeur

Jan Commandeur in zijn atelier. Photo: Sonia Commandeur.

On 5 April 2024, we mourned the passing of Jan Commandeur, a distinguished artist whose name is synonymous with post-war abstract-expressionist painting in the Netherlands.

Jan Commandeur was born on 29 April 1954 as the son of a farmer in the small North Holland village of Avenhorn. The rural lifestyle and the sometimes unforgiving cycles of life on a farm had a significant impact on his psyche and later work. At the age of nineteen, he decided to express his love for nature in a different way: through the arts. He enrolled at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and continued his studies at Ateliers ’63 in Haarlem.

Jan Commandeur, BorzoGallery

Commandeur had a deep interest in the complexity and transience of nature and in his work, he explored emotional layers and the boundaries of the visible. He was known for his unique approach to landscapes, not aiming for precise depiction but rather creating what he called 'memory images.' This approach allowed him to capture the essence of a landscape, which he described as "trying to capture the poetry of a clear moment, a moment that is seen because it is recognised." Composition was crucial in this process and developed through prolonged observation. Commandeur stated, "In this process, the inherent stubbornness of nature must be overcome." His vibrant paintings reflected a rich diversity of colour palettes, similar to those found in nature.

Regarding his artistic practice, he said in an interview with GalleryViewer: "The work always goes on. I always think about it. When setting up a new painting, I start sketchily with large strokes of paint; the contours of a landscape, without a horizon. After I've painted, I take pictures of it that I study in the evening. I sometimes look at the photos for hours, thinking about problems in the image and try to envision the next step. I have learned that my concentration improves when I first cycle through Amsterdam for an hour. I then take a good look around me, at the city and at nature." The artist primarily worked as an abstract painter, but in his later years, he also experimented with other disciplines such as collage and photography.

Jan Commandeur

Commandeur exhibited his paintings at various institutions, including the MoMA in New York, the Stedelijk Museum, Singer Laren, the Van Abbemuseum and the Cobra Museum. In 1982, his work was featured at the Venice Biennale. Two years ago, BorzoGallery, his gallery, hosted a solo exhibition of his work. Throughout his career, he received several awards, including the Buning Brongers Prize (1980) and the Royal Subsidy for Free Painting (1981), now known as the Royal Award for Modern Painting.

Jan Commandeur lived to be 69 years old. View an overview of his work here.

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Flor Linckens

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24 april 2024, Flor Linckens

In Memoriam: Jan Commandeur

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