Jan Van Den Dobbelsteen
Dutch, 1954
Born in Aalst-Waalre, The Netherlands. Lives and works in Eindhoven.
The rich oeuvre of Jan Van Den Dobbelsteen seems to have come evolved autonomously and organically over the past forty years. If there is one movement that had an influence on his early years, it was fundamental painting. He engaged in research into the actual means that are available to the artist, literally and figuratively adding layers as he went along. His investigations eventually culminated in the metaphysical idea that in every material there is a hidden force. This new layer of meaning has further enriched the works without giving the impression that the spiritual is imposing itself.
The natural contradiction between the mystical and the material is resolved in a wondrous and almost playful way. It is in fact this merging point in which the appeal lies. Van Den Dobbelsteen’s visual idiom has an open and auspicious quality that invites reflection on a number of levels. The artist urges you to step back and start reading again: Slow art for slow readers who want to be surprised.
