Koen Delaere was born in Bruges, Belgium, in 1970. An artist who stretches the
academic rules of painting, he now lives and works in Tilburg, the
Netherlands. While completing his studies at the Tilburg Academy of Fine Arts,
he was already attracting attention for his obstinate insistence on
'reinventing' the art of painting. Delaere's work successfully breaks away
from the two-dimensional tramlines of 'painting' as a discipline, using a
variety of painting materials to construct a layered relief. This unique
method of working opens a world of detail to viewers standing very close to
the canvas while, from a distance, his paintings seem almost to jump off the
wall.
Key concepts for Delaere are growth, over-growth and change. His paintings and
drawings are products of a sustained process of development and adaptation
lasting right up to the magic moment of completion.
Delaere's paintings seek to portray a dynamic image arising from the
unpredictable 'chemistry' of material, action and chance. Sometimes it
literally is chemistry, as the paint dries and assumes its final color.
Koen Delaere paints abstracts in thick layers of paint. He uses various types
of paint, which he applies to the canvas in broad swathes. Streaks, stripes,
dots and spots are visible traces of his creative process and lend structure
and relief to the canvas. The colors may be lively or pastel, as the paint
clings to the canvas in multiple layers. While some of his works may be
reminiscent of landscape, this is not a deliberate theme on Delaere's part.
Still, there is no doubting his fascination with combining visual experiences
such as distance and closeness, color and structure, shape and change,
material and image. In his latest work, Delaere adds a new theme to his
abstract repertoire: parallel horizontal strips criss-crossing the canvas in a
range of materials and colors.
His works look like excerpts from a greater whole. The strips and the sense of
motion seem to extend beyond the bounds of the canvas. This lends his works
the quality of traces of some greater action. This movement does not seek to
represent something else, but bears witness to a daily presence. The frequent
use of spray paint on these canvases also gives the work a direct allusion to
graffiti.
Koen Delaere studied at the Tilburg Academy of Fine Arts from 1992-1996 and
lives and works in Tilburg, the Netherlands. In 2006 he won the Wolvecamp
Prize for his abstract paintings. His works feature in the collections of ABN
Amro, Rabobank, Akzo Nobel, Bouwfonds, Van Lansschot Bankiers, the Dutch
Ministry of Foreign affairs, Theodoor Gilissen Private Bankers, Fontys, Aegon
and Fortis.
Source: Gerhard Hofland
