Bob Eikelboom approaches his work as a true painter. His use of colour and his compositions betray his painter’s eye. Drawing on the rich history of art, his work is well-considered. “Paintings are like collages of paint”, he says. “The process of painting consists of adding, taking away, and adding again. There’s a long history of experimenting with composition in painting. Piet Mondrian used coloured paper and tape to perfect his compositions, as you can still see in Victory Boogie Woogie. Henri Matisse had his Cut-Outs carefully pinned up before they were glued onto the canvas. And I do the same thing in my way.”
Bob Eikelboom grew up in the Netherlands and America, and this is reflected in his work, which uses humour to question the role of painting. It combines the irony of European art with the audacity and grand gestures typical of American art, including the focus on the banal, which has occasionally resurfaced in contemporary art ever since the days of pop art.
The digital world has changed the way artists, particularly young artists, work. Hence the term ‘Painting after Technology’. Using digital design programmes, it is possible to repeatedly adapt compositions by moving elements of the image. The magnet paintings suggest this profusion of choice, as the composition can in theory be changed using the magnets, allowing it to be dissected, constructed and deconstructed. Eikelboom encourages viewers to take part in this game, giving them an opportunity to stand in the artist’s shoes.
To Eikelboom the magnet paintings also have a metaphorical meaning. Composing and dissecting are an essential part of the process of forming an opinion and establishing the truth. Free conversation, dissent, debate and double layers all inspire Eikelboom. At first glance, his colourful paintings are dominated by a cheerful absurdity, as order and chaos do battle. “But nothing is as it seems”, he says. “Beneath every layer of paint, another is hidden. The magnets also create a certain freedom to shape ideas and find ideal compositions. The possibilities seem endless, but they’re not. The supposed freedom and whimsicality generated by this way of working often make me realise how complex it all is. And that complexity is magnificent, I think.”
Bob Eikelboom grew up in the Netherlands and America, and this is reflected in his work, which uses humour to question the role of painting. It combines the irony of European art with the audacity and grand gestures typical of American art, including the focus on the banal, which has occasionally resurfaced in contemporary art ever since the days of pop art.
The digital world has changed the way artists, particularly young artists, work. Hence the term ‘Painting after Technology’. Using digital design programmes, it is possible to repeatedly adapt compositions by moving elements of the image. The magnet paintings suggest this profusion of choice, as the composition can in theory be changed using the magnets, allowing it to be dissected, constructed and deconstructed. Eikelboom encourages viewers to take part in this game, giving them an opportunity to stand in the artist’s shoes.
To Eikelboom the magnet paintings also have a metaphorical meaning. Composing and dissecting are an essential part of the process of forming an opinion and establishing the truth. Free conversation, dissent, debate and double layers all inspire Eikelboom. At first glance, his colourful paintings are dominated by a cheerful absurdity, as order and chaos do battle. “But nothing is as it seems”, he says. “Beneath every layer of paint, another is hidden. The magnets also create a certain freedom to shape ideas and find ideal compositions. The possibilities seem endless, but they’re not. The supposed freedom and whimsicality generated by this way of working often make me realise how complex it all is. And that complexity is magnificent, I think.”
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Artworks by Bob Eikelboom
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Making Money for My Friends, Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht, The Netherlands
2018. Exhibition by Bob Eikelboom
About
Parool - El Bobo
"El Bobo is the fool, the idiot. You can become crazy about your own lust and desires. But it is also a state of being, a zero point that is necessary to make art. You could say that the madman is the one who raises problems for himself, thinks of his own solutions and cherishes that whole idea too. "
Moreover, these problems are becoming increasingly complex and the solutions more free. For the first time, Eikelboom shows charcoal sketches: revised versions of Picasso's fool's head, which zooms in ever further "until it becomes your own face". From scrap wood and shiny white epoxy he drew up a "throne for speeches by El Bobo" and a piece of furniture with a hood that he labeled as "a chair that echoes your voice and thoughts".
Edo Dijksterhuis
NRC
In the room of director Stijn Huyts Van Lienden was seized by a sculpture by his peers Bob Eikelboom (1991). The reflective semicircle, made of polyurethane foam and sprayed with purple car paint, constantly looked at him during the conversations with the director, he says, "as an all-seeing eye". "It reminded me of the works of Anish Kapoor, but also of the convex mirror in the Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck. Such an all-seeing eye fits nicely with Perry's circle of life. "
Sandra Smallenburg
Parool - Making money for my friends
Making money for my friends is cheerful and hopeful about the future of art. Making images in the year 2018 can be punk and pop at the same time, with a good dose of self-reflection. In the center of the exhibition space is Bob Eikelboom's Liberal picture service. The sloppily finished exterior of this cabin is in stark contrast to the interior that is covered with rounded white walls. Once inside, the door closed, you see no shapes, no depth, nothing except light. While the eyes are being rinsed clean, the ears get food from sound recordings, snippets of music and film dialogues. This is an introduction to the frame of reference of the exhibiting millennials that cheerfully bounces in all directions.
Punk rock and horror are just as important for the three as knight novels,
classical portrait paintings and practical chemistry. Nor does hierarchy exist, not even between viewer and artist. The composition of Medusa & place this work next to Medusa for the inkblot test, a lovely diptych performed in baby pink and light blue, can be adjusted by visitors themselves. The picture elements exist
namely from fridge magnets. With this work, the then 22-year-old Eikelboom won the Royal Award for Free Painting four years ago. It is not a big bet to predict that this fifty-year work will adorn the pages of many a catalog of 21st century painting. Eikelboom has now perfected its recipe. The mobile puzzle pieces have become even more diverse and can even be found on the edges.
Edo Dijksterhuis
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Bob Eikelboom studied at the Royal Academy in The Hague (2008-2012) and Royal College of Art, London (2015-2017). He is the recipient of the 2014 Royal Award for Modern Painting. His work is, among other things, included in the collections of the Bonnefanten museum, Maastricht and the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague. His work is also included in a large number of private collections and the corporate collections of AkzoNobel, ING, KRC.
CV
Education
2015-2017 MFA Painting, Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom
2008-2012 Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, The Hague, The Netherlands
Awards
2015 Hendrik Muller Fonds, scholarship
2015 Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, scholarschip
2014 Royal Award for Modern Painting, The Netherlands
2012 Startstipendium Mondriaan Fonds
Solo exhibitions
2022 Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, NL
2022 Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL
2022 Alice Folker, Copenhagen, DK (duo)
2020 'Short Summer Special', Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL
2019 'Curves', Barbara Seiler, Zurich, CH
2018 Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017 Liberal Picture Service, Royal College of Art Graduation show, London, United Kingdom
2015 The Eternal Temptation of Creating a Masterpiece, Barbara Seiler, Zürich, CH
2014 Moonshine, Boetzelaer|Nispen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2013 Discolor, Galerie Rianne Groen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Group exhibitions
2022 'Vals Plat', Bonnefanten museum, Maastricht, NL
2021 'Reflections beyond the surface', AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam, NL
2020 'VG Award', GEM, The Hague, NL
'Sgabello Collection: In Search of the Miraculous', Project Space on the Inside, Amsterdam, NL
'Christmas Salon', Alice Folker, Copenhagen, DK
2019 'The Score', De Apotheek, Amsterdam, NL
Heden, The Hague, NL
'Surface Painter' Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL
2018 'Undercurrents', The Artesian Well, London, UK
'P2P', Barbara Seiler & annex14, Zürich, CH
De meest eigentijdse, Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Making Money for my Friends, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2016 Fortune Teller, Garage Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Beating around the Bush #4, Collection presentation, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2015 Making Monsters for my Friends, De Nederlansche Bank, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Beating around the Bush #3, Collection presentation, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Not a Painting, The Hole, New York, United States of America
Urbi et Orbi, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague, The Netherlands
2014 Disaster Date, Gastatelier Leo XIII, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dull as Ditchwater, Le Plafond, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Beating Aroud the Bush #2, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Gran Turismo, Boetzelaer|Nispen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2013 Slow is Smooth is Fast, Boetzelaer|Nispen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Now or Never, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands
2015-2017 MFA Painting, Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom
2008-2012 Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, The Hague, The Netherlands
Awards
2015 Hendrik Muller Fonds, scholarship
2015 Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, scholarschip
2014 Royal Award for Modern Painting, The Netherlands
2012 Startstipendium Mondriaan Fonds
Solo exhibitions
2022 Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, NL
2022 Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL
2022 Alice Folker, Copenhagen, DK (duo)
2020 'Short Summer Special', Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL
2019 'Curves', Barbara Seiler, Zurich, CH
2018 Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017 Liberal Picture Service, Royal College of Art Graduation show, London, United Kingdom
2015 The Eternal Temptation of Creating a Masterpiece, Barbara Seiler, Zürich, CH
2014 Moonshine, Boetzelaer|Nispen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2013 Discolor, Galerie Rianne Groen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Group exhibitions
2022 'Vals Plat', Bonnefanten museum, Maastricht, NL
2021 'Reflections beyond the surface', AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam, NL
2020 'VG Award', GEM, The Hague, NL
'Sgabello Collection: In Search of the Miraculous', Project Space on the Inside, Amsterdam, NL
'Christmas Salon', Alice Folker, Copenhagen, DK
2019 'The Score', De Apotheek, Amsterdam, NL
Heden, The Hague, NL
'Surface Painter' Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam, NL
2018 'Undercurrents', The Artesian Well, London, UK
'P2P', Barbara Seiler & annex14, Zürich, CH
De meest eigentijdse, Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Making Money for my Friends, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2016 Fortune Teller, Garage Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Beating around the Bush #4, Collection presentation, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
2015 Making Monsters for my Friends, De Nederlansche Bank, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Beating around the Bush #3, Collection presentation, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Not a Painting, The Hole, New York, United States of America
Urbi et Orbi, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague, The Netherlands
2014 Disaster Date, Gastatelier Leo XIII, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Koninklijke Prijs voor Vrije Schilderkunst, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dull as Ditchwater, Le Plafond, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Beating Aroud the Bush #2, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Gran Turismo, Boetzelaer|Nispen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2013 Slow is Smooth is Fast, Boetzelaer|Nispen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Now or Never, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands
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