Pieter Goudzwaard, van | The Hague, the Netherlands
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untitled, unknown
oil on canvas, 125x55cmThis painting exudes an intense appeal. The pungent yellow tones together with the bright red, pink and thick black lines give this work an edgy quality. In some ways the shapes created are suggestive of the shadows of creatures, but any such allusion is soon thrown into disarray as the lines dissolve into ‘nothingness’. These exploratory lines create an illusion of movement. The darkened arched area, just off centre, draws the viewer’s attention closer to the painting, as a fine line drawing can be observed within.
The viewer is witness to the early stages of a creative process. The very finely crackled and flaky surface adds to this idea of process; as the upper surface is gradually peeling off over a period of time, the painting slowly changes and thus renews itself.
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untitled, early 1960's
oil on paper, 48x63cmIn some works van Goudzwaard combines geometric and organic forms creating ingenious compositional formations that are rarely equaled. Two tall fluid forms are placed side by side, both seeming resembling the female form but reduced to virtual abstraction. The silhouettes have been intersected by geometrical shapes, provoking disharmony*.
The painter emphasises the dualistic character of human nature; the rational material driven character versus the emotive or spiritual side. The idea of dualism was famously explored by the 17th century French philosopher René Descartes who suggested that the body works like a machine and that the mind (or soul), on the other hand, is non-material and does not follow the laws of science.
* By intermixing styles, van Goudzwaard broke with a tradition that tended to separate geometrical abstraction and Abstract Expressionism.
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untitled, 1963
oil on paper, 48x63cmLike many of van Goudzwaard’s paintings this artwork seems to exist in a continuous state of change due to experimental colour staining, layering and texturing. In the central area of the painting the grainy surface has become most dense, resulting in a mood that creates an unfathomable mystery. The textured elements in Goudzwaard’s painting put his work into proximity of ‘matter’ painters such as Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012). However, Goudzwaard’s work stands out from this genre because in contrast to these artists, Goudzwaard did not envisage the use of this technique as a goal in itself; rather, he used these experimental techniques as a means to create new forms and dimensions.
On top of the elaborate surface, black elements of calligraphy seem to dance across it and at the same time contrast the bleached ghostly shadows in the background.
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untitled, 1968
oil, paper on canvas, 175x150cmVan Goudzwaard has created a rather sinister scene that is offset against a golden yellow textured background. It is a poignant work, with a hard hitting visual impact that could almost be describes as an anti-aesthetic gesture.
A big black sombrero-esque shape has been given a central position, black strands stream from it and across most of the picture surface. Two almost identical thick vertical bars dominate the lower part of the composition. They could be seen as a symbolism of the duality of existence; man-woman or materiality versus spirituality. The dematerialising objects and the conflicting elements brought about by dualism could point at the complicated relationship that society has with its material environment. The painting has once aptly been described by a visitor to the museum as created by a sardonic mystic.