Biography
Jouke Kruijer (Eelderwolde, 1957), begins his career as a painter in 2003 at Peter Schenk’s studio where he starts drawing nudes. He rents a studio at the Brouwersgracht in Amsterdam, where he produces his first abstract work in 2006. He is fascinated by the process of disfiguration: translating the female body into a lyrical expression of colour and line. Ink, acrylic and paper pasted on canvas (marouflage) form his mixed media. Sizes vary from 10 x 16 cm to 100 x 140 cm. His paintings are mystical; striking a balance between figurative and abstract.
As a hybrid professional, Jouke combines his artistic career with his career as an executive coach and business consultant. Associated with the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, he facilitates workshops across the world where art meets complexity and business professionals are guided on a journey of creativity to make a collaborative work of art.
Presently, he works from his studio in Amsterdam. Jouke has an international orientation, selling work from his gallery and abroad in cities such as Seattle, Paris, London and Helsinki. Inspired by Peter Schenk, Gerhard Richter and Cai Guo-Qiang, he is member of the Albert Cuyp Group, Amsterdam.
Recent exhibitions were held in Zwolle, Monnickendam and his hometown, Amsterdam. It is also possible to make an appointment to visit his studio in Amsterdam.
Twice a year Jouke offers a serie of art classes in his studio. The focus is to discover ones own style of creating abstract and expressionistic works of art.
Jouke: “Ultimately what comes out of my hands is what lives inside. When people connect to what I make, the reverse process takes place. Their inside awakens by what their eyes sees.”
What others say about him
“When Jouke Kruijer paints, he is making love, love to his canvas. Passion, tenderness, colour, and strength in an alternating rhythm. Form becomes fluid and solidifies in his paint. Kruijer is fascinated with the process of painting. The painted nudes treat the viewer to brushstrokes that suggest shapes of the female body, forms appear later to be taken up in an almost abstract imagery. Colour and light change like the seasons of the soul.” – Peter Schenk