Ad Verstijnen

Verstijnen’s artistic career began in his early years. Over time, he developed his own methods and techniques and experimented in bold ways. He used a wide variety of materials, including corrugated cardboard, jute, plastic, and textured materials. His use of these materials, among other factors, gave rise to his characteristic works.

His recent paintings are characterized by a powerful style and a vivid use of color. This results in stable compositions that are not without humor.

Ad strives for authenticity and spontaneity. The childhood drawings of his children, Maaike and Edgar, were often a source of inspiration. The optimism in these drawings appealed to him. He began to notice and appreciate this more and more.

The style that emerged from this clearly shows a kinship with the bright colors and spontaneous expression of the international Cobra group. Ad Verstijnen paints the immediate world of the child: a child with a cat, a bicycle, a little bird, and a ball. All these images symbolize freedom and have nothing to do with the norms and rules of adult society. In this way, the artist consciously breaks away from the norms he learned at the academy.

Lately, Ad Verstijnen has also been creating more and more three-dimensional work.

The artist describes his work with the following words:

Always in the opposite direction. Swinging, full of joy, back and forth between fantasy and reality. Optimism propels me forward into an adventure of creativity, in which established conventions are avoided as much as possible.

I usually start from nothing. Sometimes a child’s drawing, a classic car, or some form of activity takes center stage. I want to explore groundbreaking values, create striking work, in such a way that I primarily capture my own sense of wonder and attention.

What I do has no fixed framework. Is it the meaning of nonsense? In any case, the work becomes meaningful if it fits within my creative sway. It must convey a clear radiance, an intense dynamism, vivid colors, and a sense of spatiality

Always working with full intention, yet stepping back again. Will the struggle continue?