Wouter Stips: cheerful, storytelling art full of cats, fish and cupids
Cats in hats, flying fathers, cupids, fish and apples, in bright, cheerful colours: the work of Wouter Stips makes you smile and think at the same time. You recognise his style in an instant, and he is a firm favourite in our collection.
Who is Wouter Stips?
Wouter Stips was born in 1944 and trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam. After that he did all kinds of things: he exhibited prints and paintings, made animated films in Prague and puppets in Paris, wrote and directed theatre productions and published books and comics.
From 1980 he worked mainly in television. He wrote, directed and developed programmes, from documentaries about theatre and cabaret to drama and comedy series, and from 1990 he was creative director at IDTV and Endemol. After fifteen intense years in television he returned to his first love: painting.
How to recognise a Stips
In a short time Stips developed a style of his own that you recognise straight away:
- A wondrous world full of human-animals, cupids, horses, cats, fish, apples and birds.
- Clear, unmixed colours, often in large areas, sometimes with a little chalk worked in.
- A story in every work: theatrical, a touch naive and full of humour. His background in theatre and television shines through.
- Titles that complete the story, such as Vader komt thuis (Father comes home), Moi, toi et le chat or Ik hou je altijd vast (I'll always hold you).
His work is sometimes compared to CoBrA, because of the colours and the playful, childlike freedom. Yet above all it is a light-hearted kind of surrealism, with a wink. Every work feels like an ode to the artist's own regained freedom.
Silkscreen prints by Wouter Stips
Many of Stips' best-known images exist as silkscreen prints, in numbered editions and signed by hand. The bright colours come into their own in a silkscreen. That makes a Stips a cheerful eye-catcher in a living room, kitchen or children's room, and in an office that could use a bit of humour too.
A Wouter Stips on your own wall
Our collection includes dozens of silkscreens by Wouter Stips. Save your favourites and reserve them: we deliver and hang them for free anywhere in the Netherlands, and you first see at home which one looks best. Unsure about the size? With View in my room you can already see an artwork at true size on your own wall.
How to order online: click the heart on the artworks you like to save them as favourites. Then go to your favourites and reserve them. That's how you request a free trial placement.
View all artworks by Wouter Stips or read how art rental works.