Kees de Goede (1954)

De Goede emerged from Atelier ’63 (Haarlem) and P.S.1 (New York City), his subjects and materials coming from the world around him. The starting point for his initial drawings and paintings were the branches of wood or stalks of bamboo that directed his process of composition. In his art, De Goede does not aim to reproduce nature but rather to work in close alliance with it. Since the early 80's, De Goede's working methodology expanded his sources of inspiration beyond the strictly natural. He began an exploration into drawing on newspaper which continues to this day.

Using what he comes across and what astonishes him, new images take form, synergising with the encountered materials or subjects. Pieces are characterised by a suggestion of movement and the infinite, especially in the cases where De Goede has constructed his frames from bamboo or branches, thereby freeing the work from the traditional plane of the canvas. One overarching theme in De Goede’s work is the concept of containing, and in a way freezing, energy in time and space. Previous works have been made using soot –the physical traces left behind by a flame– or by using paint to permanently trap shadows on an organically shaped canvas, this goes all the way back to his earliest wood and bamboo pieces. In his most recent body of work this contained energy is represented by the force needed to shatter security glass and the permanent marks this leaves.

De Goede Lives and works between Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and his farm house in the South of France.

His work is part of numerous prominent public and private collections around the world. In 2015 his work was the subject of a big overview exhibition titled Perpétuel at internationally renowned Museum de Pont in Tilburg. Throughout the years his work has been exhibited at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Kunsthalle Nürnberg, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin and many others around the world.

Exhibitions
Contact

Home Photos © Rob Versluys