Michiel Schrijver, (1957) is a surreal architecture painter.
"Travel fuels the imagination" is a variant on an old saying which certainly applies to Michiel Schrijver. Painting is a form of travel for him, after all. And the way it amazes him is a great motivation to paint. Amazement at everything he discovers en route in his inner world, because that is what appears in his paintings.
The paintings of Michiel Schrijver give us the opportunity to travel through his world. We are taken into his inner world where people play a minor role in an often overwhelming architecture. A minor role but of certain importance. Moreover, you always feel the presence of the sea in his paintings.
Schrijver: "Water flows; it is always moving, bringing us to many places to unknown isles as far as beyond the horizon. That intrigues me, but also staying home within the security of the harbour, giving us comfort, has a certain attraction". Schrijver creates situations where certain elements frequently return. Buildings with pillars, domes and arches are often provided with ribbons and flags or signs with arrows, numbers and figures. They have no symbolic meaning but purely a pictorial function.
The people within these structures have indistinctive lifes. Schrijver: "Of course many questions arise about the world I create, but I don't have to know the answer. Something gets lost when I know what it is all about". In order to get his paintings to a good end he deals with a creative imagination. This is a dual activity; it combines the act of seeing with the action of creating. His paintings show a Fantasy world .
Overwelming architecture dominates his scenes, illuminated by Mediterranean colors. Water is an important element for him, as well as people who almost always play a minor role in his scenes. They seem to have indistinctive lives. In short: he uses the outside world to feed his inner world. All paintings are executed with acrylic on canvas.
© 2024. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Michiel Schrijver or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
 |
| Michiel Schrijver |
