José Heerkens lives and works in Zeeland, NB, a village in the southeast of The Netherlands. She is fascinated by space, by light, by rhythym and color. Her non-objective paintings and drawings are elegant explorations and discoveries, reflective of the environment.
"Today is a beautiful Sunday, silent and sunny. Spring has started very slowly this year. The photo shows the east side, the windows are on the northside. The total space is about 110 square meters."
In her own words:
"I have a fascination for the endlessness of the space of the landscape (which) forms the basis of my work. As a child, I looked at the rhythym of the trees, the colors and forms of the ploughed fields, the water in the ditches and listened to how the people talked and saw how they built and worked. I think the need to understand life is the first step on the way to art.
José Heerkens Written Colours, II, 2010 150x200cm, oil on linen
"In my work line is always an important means to visualize space. Lines form and lead space toward rhythmic constructions. I search for the life and human on one side, and the geometry, the universal standard, on the other side; space as silence and emptiness on one side, and completeness and perfection on the other side. There is a constant dialogue between construction and intuition. I need them both in my effort to understand.
José Heerkens Passing Colours IV, 2009 30x30cm, oil on linen
"Colour is a whole world. Colour is light, space, energy, movement, and I strive towards a space where these qualities, in all clarity, meet.
"The painting becomes a place where light and space seek and form each other. In several series I leave the linen unpainted so the colour and the material of the pure linen is part of the painting.
"I work on series at the same time so that they develop side by side, simultaneously. Sometimes a series goes on for years. Some of my newest work is titled, 'Written Colours'. These paintings show a new step in my work".
José Heerkens studied at Koninklijke Academie voor Kunst en Vormgeving, s-Hertogenbosch (Noord Brabant). She has also had educational travels in Iceland and the Westman Islands, Singapore, Norway, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Greece, Malaysia and the United States.
José Heerkens Reality of Light III, 2009 120x120cm oil on linen
Formeel 2010, an exhibitoion with Cecilia Vissers, opens on May 21 in Museum Waterland in Pumerend (NH).
Thanks, José
4 comments:
Thanks everyone for your patience with this post. I had some technical trouble with blogspot first time around. José's paintings are important, and I appreciate you reading and sharing this post.
-Kate
The trouble you took, Kate was well worth the effort -from this side of the screen at least. Jose's fine judgement between colours and the breathing space necessary to free them is a real pleasure.
José Heerkens has fascination for the endlessness of the space of landscape forms the basis of her work. Line is always an important means to visualize space . A line can tell you so much: a feeling, an emotion, the time of day, what season, and the kind of energy the painting is giving. Using a Linen canvas instead of regular canvas shows so much a different texture and feeling of the painting. The way the paint can soak in the canvas changes the whole feel of the painting. It is incredible how you can see how much she explores her reflective environment and how she represents that by line and color. It’s like she sat herself in the middle of a field and closed her eyes and recorded: what she felt, what she smelled, how the wind blew through her hair, and the feeling of the gleaming sun kissing her skin. As she opened her eyes she saw how shadows forms, the reflection of light, and the rhythm of the trees.
I welcome knowing more deeply about Jose's work. Thanks to you both.
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