Rob Bouwman’s (b. 1981) most recent body of work consists of translucent oil-based colours on wood panels. While contemporary painting often remains beholden to the Postmodern by reproducing the fragmentary or the unfinished, his works shows that the artist’s process does not stop by achieving an arbitrary endpoint. In “Untitled, p012017”, glooming colour strands stretch over the panel forming tunnel-like configurations, as if the artist captured a certain glimpse of discrete colour already in existence, floating throughout the universe. These images create tension between atmospheric impressions of light and spatial illusion produced exclusively by means of the material nature of translucent colours on a bright surface.
Today, it seems the relation between representation and reality has become ambiguous through the use of digital images for data mining and information extraction in order to employ human affect. Images are now needed which do not require anything beyond being looked at. Now, when the temporality of images is ephemeral and exchangeable with a simple click, paintings are demanded which offer another concept of temporality, a concept of being and duration. A concept that Bouwman is proposing with his work and his art practice
A massive transition has taken place from his earlier black and white paintings towards a spectacle of bright and lucent colours. While his achromatic works demonstrate that the penetration of negative space and geometry already played a major role in his oeuvre, the addition of colours has expanded the complexity of his paintings. Here, the viewer’s gaze is pulled into the spatial depth of colourful tubular tunnels. Even if one may say of Bouwman’s new paintings that they do not becomes more abstract, there is a certain visual effect which establishes his affinity towards photography, and through that an affinity towards pictures from the world. The illusion of space marks a tension between distance and proximity that becomes aesthetically more reminiscent of pictorial photography from the late 19th century and photorealism, than to contemporary abstract painting.
In this regard it is not astonishing that Bouwman’s first artistic medium was photography. As soon as he was directed by his instructors during his bachelors degree to continue photography he sensed indifference towards the medium. Bouwman’s artistic practice is about pushing the boundaries of a chosen medium. When he feels that certain processes of production become repetitive, the time has come to change the framework. It was at this time he quit photography in order to begin painting. Bouwman’s art practice is about trial and error until he senses control over the physical and material facts of the medium he is working with; a working method he followed during his studies at Hunter College New York and the Frank Mohr Institute. At a certain point the premises of black and white on panel seemed exhausted and Bouwman felt the need to amplify the physical parameters of his paintings by employing colour.
The major attributes of Bouwman’s recent works are a preparation of the frame, setting of the action and defining an endpoint. His works are about controlling the paradigms of colour and form. The sensitively nuanced colour-formations reveal a contemporary abstract painter who is renegotiating the idea of the sublime instead of recapitulating obsolete concepts of the unfinished.
Text written by Teresa Retzer
Today, it seems the relation between representation and reality has become ambiguous through the use of digital images for data mining and information extraction in order to employ human affect. Images are now needed which do not require anything beyond being looked at. Now, when the temporality of images is ephemeral and exchangeable with a simple click, paintings are demanded which offer another concept of temporality, a concept of being and duration. A concept that Bouwman is proposing with his work and his art practice
A massive transition has taken place from his earlier black and white paintings towards a spectacle of bright and lucent colours. While his achromatic works demonstrate that the penetration of negative space and geometry already played a major role in his oeuvre, the addition of colours has expanded the complexity of his paintings. Here, the viewer’s gaze is pulled into the spatial depth of colourful tubular tunnels. Even if one may say of Bouwman’s new paintings that they do not becomes more abstract, there is a certain visual effect which establishes his affinity towards photography, and through that an affinity towards pictures from the world. The illusion of space marks a tension between distance and proximity that becomes aesthetically more reminiscent of pictorial photography from the late 19th century and photorealism, than to contemporary abstract painting.
In this regard it is not astonishing that Bouwman’s first artistic medium was photography. As soon as he was directed by his instructors during his bachelors degree to continue photography he sensed indifference towards the medium. Bouwman’s artistic practice is about pushing the boundaries of a chosen medium. When he feels that certain processes of production become repetitive, the time has come to change the framework. It was at this time he quit photography in order to begin painting. Bouwman’s art practice is about trial and error until he senses control over the physical and material facts of the medium he is working with; a working method he followed during his studies at Hunter College New York and the Frank Mohr Institute. At a certain point the premises of black and white on panel seemed exhausted and Bouwman felt the need to amplify the physical parameters of his paintings by employing colour.
The major attributes of Bouwman’s recent works are a preparation of the frame, setting of the action and defining an endpoint. His works are about controlling the paradigms of colour and form. The sensitively nuanced colour-formations reveal a contemporary abstract painter who is renegotiating the idea of the sublime instead of recapitulating obsolete concepts of the unfinished.
Text written by Teresa Retzer
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Artworks by Rob Bouwman
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In museum collection:
Stedelijk Museum Schiedam
Market position
Rob Bouwman woont en werkt in Haarlem. Hij studeerde aan het Frank Mohr Institute in Groningen en Hunter College NYC. Hij heeft deelgenomen aan verschillende tentoonstellingen in binnen en buitenland o.a. Prospects & Concepts - Art Rotterdam (Rotterdam), It's a small world after all - Sebastian Fath Contemporary (Mannheim), Schau Fenster (Berlin), ‘Setting action / Defining moment’ - C&H Gallery (Amsterdam). Ook is hij meerdere malen genomineerd voor de koninklijke prijs voor vrije schilderkunst en kreeg hij in 2015/2016 een werkbijdrage jong talent van het Mondriaan Fonds.
CV
Past Exhibitions (selection):
2020 Groupshow - Singular Art / Gallery for contemporary Art. Nijmegen
2019 PAN Art Fair - Janknegt Gallery. Amsterdam
2019 Fresh Windows - Roger Katwijk Gallery. Amsterdam
2019 Take Away - DudokdeGroot Gallery. Amsterdam
2019 Groupshow - Singular Art / Gallery for contemporary Art. Nijmegen
2019 Time #2 – Janknegt Gallery. Laren
2019 Skin Deep - With Tsjalling Gallery. Groningen
2019 It’s a small world after all - Sebastian Fath Contemporary. Mannheim
2019 State of Play - CBK. Emmen
2018 First Show Off - Show Off Space. Rotterdam
2018 NO/TIME - Willem Twee Fabriek. Den Bosch
2018 'Setting action / Defining moment’ - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2017 Generatieportretten Schilderkunst deel 3 - Museum Waterland. Purmerend
2017 Grensgebieden - CBK Emmen in collaboration with de Passages. Emmen
2017 Echo's van De Stijl - 37PK. Haarlem
2017 Amsterdam Art Fair - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2017 Abstract Wall Paintings III - De Stijl 100 years. ACEC. Apeldoorn
2016 Art Rotterdam - Prospects&Concepts, Mondriaan Fund. Rotterdam
2016 Regenerate #2. A way of screen printing - Vishal. Haarlem
2016 Royal Awards for Painting. Amsterdam
2016 Moving Modernism - Reuten Gallery. Amsterdam
2016 Regenerate #1. A way of screen printing - Horizonverticaal. Haarlem
2016 Artists of the gallery - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2016 LUW anniversary exhibition - 37PK Art Space. Haarlem
2016 Material Matters - Concordia. Enschede
2016 Edging Iris - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2015 20 Years of deferred value - Nieuwe Vide. Haarlem
2015 Kleinbeeld 3 - Museum Waterland. Purmerend
2014 Royal Awards for Painting. Amsterdam
2014 Zonder Pardon' - Horizonverticaal. Haarlem
2014 's Gravenhaarlem (part 2. Nieuwe Vide) - Nieuwe Vide. Haarlem
2013 Am Tisch ! Aan tafel. - Schau Fenster, (de-Passages). Berlin
2013 Royal Awards for Painting. Amsterdam
2013 Post-Rotterdam - SANAA Gallery, Utrecht
2013 My love which is a building - 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2012 Das Spectrum - IMG_SRC Collective, Utrecht
2012VOL.22, p012012 - 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2012 Transition [4] - MILK - solo, Amsterdam
2012 Groningen Concreet - Kunstruimte 09 & Pretty Vacant, Groningen
2012 Soul Machine - Locatie Z Villa Ockenburgh, Den Haag
2012 Buiten de lijnen 02 - De Fabriek, Eindhoven
2012 Transition [0] - MILK, Amsterdam
2011 The Importance of Being Frank - Frank Mohr Institute MFA, Groningen
2010 Young Talent XXL - Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
2010 Alternative Modernity - Frank Mohr Institute, concept: Ingrid Commandeur, Groningen
2010 Aah Liz - Mart House Gallery, Amsterdam
2010 Wallhouse #2 - Wallhouse, Groningen
2010 Stichting SIGN+, Groningen
2010 Art Rotterdam - (Mart House Gallery), Rotterdam
2010 Colour Matters, part. 5 - Kunstruimte 09, Groningen
2010 Black Matters - Mart House Gallery, Amsterdam
2009 Sweaty Handshakes, FMI Masters - DNA, concept: Erik Tode & Jan Wattjes, Groningen
2009 Showmaster - Minerva Academy, concept: Roel Arkesteijn, Groningen
2008 The System - Hunter College MFA, open studio's, New York
Grants:
Work Contribution Young Talent - Mondriaan Fund, 2015/2016
Collections (selection):
APG Art collection
MAL Art collection
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Collection Stedelijk Museum. Schiedam
Collection CBK. Haarlem
Collection CBK. Groningen
Private Collections. Mannheim
Private Collections. Rotterdam
Private Collections. Groningen
Private Collections. Haarlem
Private Collections. Den Haag
Private Collections. Amsterdam
Private Collections. NYC
Private Collections. Barcelona
Nominations/prizes:
Royal Awards for Painting 2016, nominated
Royal Awards for Painting 2014, nominated
Royal Awards for Painting 2013, nominated
Gasunie Art Price 2011, nominated
Art-olive Young Talent Award 2009, nominated
Publications, texts and articles:
Catalogue Royal Awards for Painting 2016
Het Parool, Een grote rivier vol kleurverloop 2016
Catalogue Royal Awards for Painting 2014
Catalogue Royal Awards for Painting 2013
Catalogue Colour Matters - part. 5 Kunstruimte 09, Groningen
Catalogue K09 08/09 - 09/10, Kunstruimte 09, Groningen
Catalogue Art-olive Young Talent Award 2009
Other activities:
2015 Guest teacher Projectweek, Zonder Pardon' - Minerva Academy, Groningen
2014 Guest curator De vishal - As art as can be, Haarlem
2014 Initiator Frank Mohr alumni exhibition series, Mohr Mohr Mohr, Haarlem
2014 Guest teacher Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen
2013 Guest teacher Minerva Academy, Groningen
2012 Artist-talk 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2012 Artist-talk Horizonverticaal Artist-run Space, Haarlem
2012 Artist in residence VOL.22 - 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2020 Groupshow - Singular Art / Gallery for contemporary Art. Nijmegen
2019 PAN Art Fair - Janknegt Gallery. Amsterdam
2019 Fresh Windows - Roger Katwijk Gallery. Amsterdam
2019 Take Away - DudokdeGroot Gallery. Amsterdam
2019 Groupshow - Singular Art / Gallery for contemporary Art. Nijmegen
2019 Time #2 – Janknegt Gallery. Laren
2019 Skin Deep - With Tsjalling Gallery. Groningen
2019 It’s a small world after all - Sebastian Fath Contemporary. Mannheim
2019 State of Play - CBK. Emmen
2018 First Show Off - Show Off Space. Rotterdam
2018 NO/TIME - Willem Twee Fabriek. Den Bosch
2018 'Setting action / Defining moment’ - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2017 Generatieportretten Schilderkunst deel 3 - Museum Waterland. Purmerend
2017 Grensgebieden - CBK Emmen in collaboration with de Passages. Emmen
2017 Echo's van De Stijl - 37PK. Haarlem
2017 Amsterdam Art Fair - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2017 Abstract Wall Paintings III - De Stijl 100 years. ACEC. Apeldoorn
2016 Art Rotterdam - Prospects&Concepts, Mondriaan Fund. Rotterdam
2016 Regenerate #2. A way of screen printing - Vishal. Haarlem
2016 Royal Awards for Painting. Amsterdam
2016 Moving Modernism - Reuten Gallery. Amsterdam
2016 Regenerate #1. A way of screen printing - Horizonverticaal. Haarlem
2016 Artists of the gallery - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2016 LUW anniversary exhibition - 37PK Art Space. Haarlem
2016 Material Matters - Concordia. Enschede
2016 Edging Iris - C&H Gallery. Amsterdam
2015 20 Years of deferred value - Nieuwe Vide. Haarlem
2015 Kleinbeeld 3 - Museum Waterland. Purmerend
2014 Royal Awards for Painting. Amsterdam
2014 Zonder Pardon' - Horizonverticaal. Haarlem
2014 's Gravenhaarlem (part 2. Nieuwe Vide) - Nieuwe Vide. Haarlem
2013 Am Tisch ! Aan tafel. - Schau Fenster, (de-Passages). Berlin
2013 Royal Awards for Painting. Amsterdam
2013 Post-Rotterdam - SANAA Gallery, Utrecht
2013 My love which is a building - 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2012 Das Spectrum - IMG_SRC Collective, Utrecht
2012VOL.22, p012012 - 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2012 Transition [4] - MILK - solo, Amsterdam
2012 Groningen Concreet - Kunstruimte 09 & Pretty Vacant, Groningen
2012 Soul Machine - Locatie Z Villa Ockenburgh, Den Haag
2012 Buiten de lijnen 02 - De Fabriek, Eindhoven
2012 Transition [0] - MILK, Amsterdam
2011 The Importance of Being Frank - Frank Mohr Institute MFA, Groningen
2010 Young Talent XXL - Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
2010 Alternative Modernity - Frank Mohr Institute, concept: Ingrid Commandeur, Groningen
2010 Aah Liz - Mart House Gallery, Amsterdam
2010 Wallhouse #2 - Wallhouse, Groningen
2010 Stichting SIGN+, Groningen
2010 Art Rotterdam - (Mart House Gallery), Rotterdam
2010 Colour Matters, part. 5 - Kunstruimte 09, Groningen
2010 Black Matters - Mart House Gallery, Amsterdam
2009 Sweaty Handshakes, FMI Masters - DNA, concept: Erik Tode & Jan Wattjes, Groningen
2009 Showmaster - Minerva Academy, concept: Roel Arkesteijn, Groningen
2008 The System - Hunter College MFA, open studio's, New York
Grants:
Work Contribution Young Talent - Mondriaan Fund, 2015/2016
Collections (selection):
APG Art collection
MAL Art collection
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Collection Stedelijk Museum. Schiedam
Collection CBK. Haarlem
Collection CBK. Groningen
Private Collections. Mannheim
Private Collections. Rotterdam
Private Collections. Groningen
Private Collections. Haarlem
Private Collections. Den Haag
Private Collections. Amsterdam
Private Collections. NYC
Private Collections. Barcelona
Nominations/prizes:
Royal Awards for Painting 2016, nominated
Royal Awards for Painting 2014, nominated
Royal Awards for Painting 2013, nominated
Gasunie Art Price 2011, nominated
Art-olive Young Talent Award 2009, nominated
Publications, texts and articles:
Catalogue Royal Awards for Painting 2016
Het Parool, Een grote rivier vol kleurverloop 2016
Catalogue Royal Awards for Painting 2014
Catalogue Royal Awards for Painting 2013
Catalogue Colour Matters - part. 5 Kunstruimte 09, Groningen
Catalogue K09 08/09 - 09/10, Kunstruimte 09, Groningen
Catalogue Art-olive Young Talent Award 2009
Other activities:
2015 Guest teacher Projectweek, Zonder Pardon' - Minerva Academy, Groningen
2014 Guest curator De vishal - As art as can be, Haarlem
2014 Initiator Frank Mohr alumni exhibition series, Mohr Mohr Mohr, Haarlem
2014 Guest teacher Frank Mohr Institute, Groningen
2013 Guest teacher Minerva Academy, Groningen
2012 Artist-talk 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
2012 Artist-talk Horizonverticaal Artist-run Space, Haarlem
2012 Artist in residence VOL.22 - 37PK Art Platform, Haarlem
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