For a number of years, Robert Zandvliet has been dealing with landscapes. They form a conceptual framework of his art. Like his other series, his investigations of landscapes oscillate between figuration and abstraction. They are always centered on the effect of depth and breadth in color and gesture.
In the early works, Zandvliet designed his images primarily graphically. Narrow lines and broad brushstrokes translate elements of landscapes into gestures. In contrast to abstract expressionism, however, the artist's personal spontaneous expression is less relevant: gestures are clearly set.
Over time, Zandvliet has turned more to the effect of color. In his recent landscape paintings, it is not only the effect of color but also materiality that shapes each picture. The painting styles range from thin to thick-pastose. The color runs and is applied in a dry-transparent manner with deliberate movements. This examination of the three-dimensionality and the appearance of color further develops ideas that were already echoed by Courbet or Dubuffet: To what extent can paint - through application, thickness, gesture, or admixture - shape a picture? It is only logical that Zandvliet chooses landscapes to search for answers to this question. Figuratively speaking, he thus creates landscapes of color in his paintings.
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