Exhibition 'Stillness', with Sylvia Bökkerink, Jan Willem Eskes and Elsa Visser.

About this activity.

Sylvia Bökkerink: Passion for Sumi-E: Japanese painting on rice paper

Sylvia Bökkerink (Almelo, 1965). For over 20 years she has experienced a passion for Sumi-E, an old Japanese painting technique with the meaning: Sumi = ink, E = painting. This is a painting method in which handcrafted materials, such as ink, brush and rice paper, are used. The energetic expression and directness of working with ink gives passion to the strokes. These ink strokes with Japanese brush on rice paper know no mercy. Nature is a great source of inspiration for Sylvia, she translates her work to the Dutch landscape, as she has seen and experienced it herself. In this way she can put a painting on paper from her heart and capture the essence with as few ink strokes as possible. She likes to be guided by the strokes, lines and spots that require little addition. Filling the brush with multiple ink tones is therefore done with great care. Painting requires a meditative approach in which she feels the subject, internalizes it and with a minimum of brush strokes and a maximum of imagination she depicts the essence. In addition to the painting, the white space is of equal importance. The simplicity of the unfinished, because as an old saying goes: 'When everything has been said, there is no more room for dreams'. Emptiness is necessary for fullness: it immediately immerses the viewer in the infinity of a world in which space is left for the unfolding of creative imagination.

- Sylvia followed the Teacher Training TEHATEX Ubbo Emmius in Groningen.

- She studied with Sumi-E artist Kalpa MacLachlan and Shodo artist Yumi Hirao.

- She has worked as a Sumi-E artist and teacher for over 10 years.

Jan Willem Eskes: In Search of Stillness

Jan Willem Eskes (Semarang, 1956 / died in 2022) made paintings about the underside of architecture, a detail of a staircase, a wall. Because they are old buildings, it seems as if the breath of history is palpable in his paintings. By painting details, he zoomed in on a feeling, as it were. For him, it was mainly about searching for stillness; for still life. Because balance and harmony are so important for stillness, nothing in the image should get in each other's way. Every brushstroke must be put at the service of the other. It is also a matter of letting go, 'a painting must rust', according to Jan Willem. He often chose to paint from a low point of view, like a child experiences its surroundings. He was amazed by details, what old stone can bring about. Boundaries between absence and presence, between past and present, between himself and the outside world. For his graduation project, he made eleven paintings of the Town Hall in Groningen. Especially the zooming in on details, such as the old stairs, the effect of light and shadow and the atmosphere made his paintings into powerful and tranquil art.

Biography

In 2010 Jan Willem graduated from the Classical Academy of Painting in Groningen. He was taught by Matthijs Röling, Peter Durieux, Piet Sebens, Joost Doornik, Juane Xieu, Henk Helmantel, Rinie Bus, Ben Rikken, Jan van Loon, Ralph Douglas, Herman van Hoogdalem, Rein Pol and Gerrie Wachtmeester. He then became a teacher at this academy himself and enjoyed teaching, using the motto: ‘Art is sharing and sharing is an art in itself’.

Elsa Visser: Dying as a breeding ground for wonder and new life

Elsa is a paper artist. The beauty of nature, which puts the everyday into perspective, is a source of inspiration for her. She can marvel at the grand splendor of details, such as the veins in a leaf, the anatomy of plants and corals. Nature carries a lot of wisdom within it, the silent process of germination, invisibly deep in the earth, but also the exuberance in wild growth. Nature with its rhythm of the seasons, reflects being human. It helps to feel the deeper meaning of the rhythm of life within yourself. A recurring theme in her visual work is the fungal forms. In nature they grow on dead material, they live symbiotically and are connected to their living environment. They strike you in their beauty and temporality and the idea that dying can be a breeding ground for new life. Elsa's images are made of handmade paper. She mainly works with mulberry paper, which is made from the bark of the mulberry tree, which is peeled off after the rainy season. The bark then grows back spontaneously; it does not require any intervention in nature to produce this paper. In addition to her free work, Elsa makes many paper sculptures on commission. Together, they agree on which quality should be visible in the work. This creates a beautiful exchange. Elsa has been working as a visual artist since 1988. For the past 10 years, she has combined this with giving yoga lessons, breathing therapy and coaching.

Exhibition info:

• Period From 4 September to 6 October 2024
• Exhibition opening Sun 8 September at 4:00 PM
• Meet the artists, Sylvia and Elsa Sun 22 Sept from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Opening hours Wed to Sun from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• Free entrance

Galerie Forma Aktua.

Al decennia lang functioneert Forma Aktua Pinakotheek als een platform voor al het opkomend talent in Noord-Nederland. Tegelijk volgt de galerie ook de ontwikkelingen in de wereld van de reeds meer gevestigde kunstenaars op de voet.

Location.

Forma Aktua
Nieuwstad 10
tel 050 3133342
www.forma-aktua.nl/