Toon Kuijpers

Toon Kuijpers’ paintings demonstrate that a realist can also be a modernist. His art reveals great skill and sensitivity to the concerns and techniques customarily associated with realism; yet Kuijpers seeks a deeper, more enduring reality by exploring the essence of natural and cultural reality and rejects the doctrine of “art for art’s sake.” This places Kuijpers’ work firmly within the heroic tradition of modern art that originated with the achievements of Manet and the Impressionists. Furthermore, the enduring lineage and relevance of this realist tradition includes Kuijpers’ own Dutch heritage. “Every old master has had his own modernity.” Kuijpers’ paintings are part of a historical chain that stretches back through Van Gogh to 17th-century masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, ultimately arriving at the birth of European realism in the first oil paintings of van Eyck. Kuijpers’ paintings represent a penetrating moment in a timeless realm, where past and present brush up against each other. By employing the “golden section” and varying light sources in his compositions, we witness his quest for the essence of the ultimate composition. This is not based on wishful thinking, but is achieved through the imaginative power of creative painting to stir our awareness and vision of the ongoing process of natural and historical change. By continually stimulating the viewer and placing the subject within different levels of perception, Kuijpers is continuing a long tradition of Dutch painting in a contemporary context.