12 february 2025, Flor Linckens
Last chance: between colour, form and memory
Until 22 February, Galerie van den Berge in Goes presents a group exhibition featuring works by Jus Juchtmans, Dave Meijer and John Van Oers. Three artists, each with a distinctive visual language, yet united by a shared fascination with the relationship between art and perception. Their paintings and sculptures challenge the viewer not only to observe but also to actively engage.
The Belgian painter Jus Juchtmans explores how colour, reflectio, and layering can create an ever-changing experience. At first glance, his paintings appear almost monochrome, yet they consist of countless transparent layers of paint that form a deep, almost liquid colour dimension. Each painting is the result of a meticulous and time-consuming process, which can take days to complete. The high-gloss finish not only captures the light but also reflects the viewer, ensuring that the image is never static. His canvases invite close contemplation, with the composition subtly shifting with each movement. Juchtmans' practice is, in essence, an investigation into the material properties of paint and the role of the viewer in completing the work. At the same time, his paintings offer a philosophical reflection on perception and time.
Juchtmans was born in Mortsel in 1952. He studied Graphic Design and Fine Printing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he continues to live and work. His work has been included in the collections of S.M.A.K., Mu.ZEE, Fondation Carmignac, Axa, ABN AMRO, AHOLD and the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego.
Where Juchtmans focuses on the sensory impact of paint and light, Dave Meijer explores the boundaries of painting as both a systematic and intuitive process. For him, painting is a journey — a continuous struggle with the canvas in pursuit of the perfect imperfect painting. His work takes shape gradually, through a succession of layers, additions, and sanded-down sections. Each piece is a search for the ultimate image — one that not only stands on its own but also resonates with the world around it. Visitors to Meijer's website are greeted by a cryptic message: “My studio is small and enclosed. It is vast and transparent.” His compositions often reference the Zeeland landscape, though never in a direct manner. Instead of depicting a recognisable horizon or dike, he presents abstract structures that evoke memories without being explicitly figurative. His paintings frequently function as fragments of a larger whole, as seen in his monumental work "Nulpunt" (2002), composed of 449 small panels, which was exhibited at Museum Voorlinden a few years ago. Meijer’s oeuvre revolves around the tension between the individual work and the broader context in which it exists.
Dave Meijer was born in 1955 in Souburg and studied at the Academy for Visual Education in Tilburg. He currently lives and works in Goes. His work is part of the collections of the Axel and May Vervoordt Foundation, Museum Voorlinden, AMC Amsterdam and Museum Belvédère, and has been exhibited at venues including De Vleeshal and Kunsthal Rotterdam.
With his sculptures, John Van Oers brings a playful yet layered approach to memory and abstraction. His works often have an architectural foundation — think of staircases, swimming pools, or windows — yet they are never literal representations. He distills forms to their essence and manipulates scale and perspective, resulting in sculptures that are both recognisable and subtly disorienting. They function as poetic translations of (personal) moments and places, without fixing them in time. His sculptures often resemble models, with subtly altered dimensions and proportions. By stylising, abstracting and omitting figurative elements, he transforms the personal into something more universal. What initially seems clear is veiled in mystery, creating space for the viewer’s imagination.
John Van Oers was born in 1967 in Neerpelt. He studied Sculpture at the Provincial Higher Institute for Art Education in Hasselt, followed by a degree in Sculpture and Restoration at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he continues to live. Since 1994, Van Oers has also been a professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arendonk. His work has been exhibited internationally, and several of his sculptures are displayed in public spaces.
The dialogue between these three artists forms the foundation of the exhibition. Where Juchtmans pushes the material properties of paint to their limits, Meijer explores the relationship between painting and its surroundings. Van Oers adds a sculptural dimension in which memory and architecture merge.
