From March 19 to May 7 andriesse ~ eyck gallery presents PALETTEN TWEE; a series of new paintings by Bert Boogaard (1952) in which the artist brings together two opposite poles from the painting tradition, namely the objective logic of constructivist abstraction and the subjective experience of colour.

In PALETTEN TWEE Boogaard continues his search for the essence of colour and the combination of colours in palettes. The palette has traditionally been the place where pigments are mixed and the matt or gloss is determined, until the 'right' colour is found. But this is not where Boogaard's quest begins. The artist finds inspiration for his PALETTEN during his walks through the city: in the shop windows of Kruidvat where new eyeshadow palettes are displayed; in the colour samples from Flexa or Farrow & Ball; on cigarette packs or other everyday items.

Whether it's the right red lipstick or the composition of the palette for a painting, choosing a colour or colour combination is a subjective matter that is often done 'by eye'. This intuitive handling of colour is at odds with the mathematical exercise with which Boogaard determines the composition of his paintings. With utmost precision he calculates and plans the arrangement of the constructivist patterns across the surface of the canvas. Not on a computer, but with a pencil and ruler standing behind a drawing table.

The result is a series of works in which 'the painting' is abstracted to its essence: colour and form. All attention is focused on how we look at a painting. What is the optical effect of a light metallic pink background? How do the colours relate to each other? How is depth created in a flat surface? Only the titles sometimes refer to the origin of the works. For example, Mars-zone (2021) refers to a series of synthetic paint colours containing iron oxide, the best known of which are ‘Mars yellow and ‘Mars black’; Pugin's-memos (2021) refers to the neo-Gothic ornamentation of the English architect Augustus W.N. Pugin in which every motif has its mathematically calculated position.

Bert Boogaard (1952, Amsterdam) studied mechanical engineering at the HTS in Alkmaar and then opted for a residency at the Ateliers ’63 in Haarlem. Boogaard has had several solo exhibitions to his name, including 'PALETTEN' at andriesse ~ eyck galerie (2016) and has participated in group exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad. His work is in the collections of leading museums and private collections at home and abroad.