Robert Zandvliet is an artist concerned with the combined act of observation and introspection. Over the course of nearly thirty years, Zandvliet has presented his work across Europe and the US, and been the subject of major solo exhibitions with the Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL), the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (NL), De Pont Museum, Tilburg (NL) and the Kunstmuseum, Bonn (DE).
Zandvliet’s approach to painting evolves gradually over time – constantly questioning, honing and expanding his understanding of an element of his practice. For example, from 2011 – 2018, the artist focused on the nuance and depth of a darker palette. Emerging from this deep study to capture the truth of his subject, he was led to begin a new series titled Le Corps de la Couleur in which he sought to investigate the essence of colour itself. Another series saw Zandvliet investigate the influence and development of art history in I owe you the truth in painting; and in Stage of Being, he invested himself into the question of what the figure meant in his paintings. As the artist comments, “I look to find the gaps in my knowledge, the underexposed components in my oeuvre, question these and dive into them to find new solutions.” Throughout each series, landscape returns to Zandvliet again and again, marking a consistent thread throughout his practice.
While deeply concerned with elemental subjects and the natural world, Zandvliet’s work resists realism, instead capturing and drawing attention to the artifice and painterly gesture of the work. His career has been one of constant evolution and experimentation, exploring the interplay of light and shadow, ideas around authenticity and reproduction, the materiality of the canvas and the distinct qualities of line, colour and depth to relate to landscape and space. Using landscape as a framework, his minimal approach shifts and merges foreground and background, subject and negative space, to reorient the viewer’s perception of depth and surface.
Robert Zandvliet (b. 1970 in Terband, NL) lives in Rotterdam and works in Haarlem (NL). He received an MFA from De Ateliers, Amsterdam (NL) in 1994. He is a recipient of the Prix de Rome (1994), the Charlotte Köhler Prize (1998) and the Wolvecamp Prize (2004).
His work is part of prominent collections such as ABN AMRO Art Foundation (NL); AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (NL); Colby College, Museum of Art, Waterville, ME (US); De Nederlandsche Bank (NL); De Vleeshal, Middelburg (NL); The David and Indrė Roberts Collection, London (UK); Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht (NL); H + F Collection, Rotterdam (NL); KPN Art Collection, The Hague (NL); Kunstmuseum, Bonn (DE); Kunstmuseum, Luzern (CH); Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL); Microsoft Art Collection, Redmond, WA (US); Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg (FR); Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen (NL); De Pont Museum, Tilburg (NL); Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (NL); M HKA, Antwerp (BE); Rijksmuseum Collection (NL); Rabobank Art Collection (NL) and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (NL) among others.
GRIMM represents the artist in London (UK), in close collaboration with Galerie Onrust in Amsterdam (NL). The artist is also represented by Peter Blum Gallery in New York, NY (US) and Bernhard Knaus Fine Art, Frankfurt am Main (DE).
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My World
Curated by Hans den Hartog Jager 18 Sep 2024 - 12 Jan 2025Curated by Hans den Hartog Jager, My World features eight artists from within GRIMM's program: Charles Avery , Tjebbe Beekman , Saskia Noor van Imhoff , Matthew Day Jackson ,...Read more -
Robert Zandvliet
Pink Moon 11 Apr - 25 May 2024 GRIMM 2 Bourdon Street, London (UK)
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Robert Zandvliet: Florilegium: Overview 1998 – 2023
Robert C. Morgan, The Brooklyn Rail, March 9, 2024 -
New Artist Spotlight: Robert Zandvliet at GRIMM
Maxwell Rabb, Artsy, October 5, 2023 -
The Shape Of Color: Robert Zandvliet on Color, Technique and Letting Go
Adam Hencz, ArtLand Magazine, February 21, 2022 -
De hoge lariks (in Dutch)
Rudi Fuchs, De Groene Amsterdammer, April 22, 2021 -
Spotlight: Robert Zandvliet - Anatomy of Color
ArtForum, March 20, 2021 -
Op het vijftig meter lange Aan ’t Groothoofd van Robert Zandvliet stroomt een hele Dordtse dag voorbij. (in Dutch)
Rudi Fuchs, De Groene Amsterdammer, February 12, 2020 -
Essentie - Stage of Being (in Dutch)
Rudi Fuchs, De Groene Amsterdammer, May 11, 2017 -
Robert Zandvliet - Kunstmuseum The Hague
Hans den Hartog Jager, ArtForum, October 1, 2012
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GRIMM at Frieze London 2023
October 6, 2023GRIMM will present a series of new works from a range of international artists within the gallery program that reflect its foundations in the Netherlands,...Read more -
Robert Zandvliet joins GRIMM
September 19, 2023GRIMM is delighted to announce the UK representation of Dutch artist Robert Zandvliet, whose expressive work occupies a space between abstraction and figuration in its...Read more