Stigter Van Doesburg is proud to present Pim Blokker's second solo exhibition in the gallery. A feast of recognition awaits anyone who walks in, with subjects so mundane that they almost have an alienating effect. Is a cow painted by Blokker still a cow, and how can a girl's hair consist of the same brushstroke as the branches of a tree? His brushstrokes are so loose that every scene seems light and airy. Blokker’s work has an inherent notion of nostalgia, which in a way reflects Nescio’s nature diaries. A nostalgia that does not resonate with the everyday longing for the past, but which carries the mere hopelessness of the moment. As Nescio depicts a heron or an iris, Blokker paints a cat or a boy with a skateboard. Realism that highlights the exceptional within our daily life and does so exquisitely.
Sometimes he borrows the iconography of figuration from the eighties or refers to the fifties, but you could likewise be hinted at the Barbizon school or the moments of happiness of Seurat. The everyday scenery that became commonplace with Impressionism has now been so chewed up that it takes something special to be able to give new insight to it, and Blokker does so with a casualness that you can only admire.
Is a cow still a cow today? Or do you immediately think of lactose intolerance, CO2 emissions and a surplus of meat? The cow's innocence may be gone, but his last word is always "moo." On the one hand, Blokker shakes off this overkill of connotations and meta-interpretation from his work, on the other hand, he gives his images just that extra touch. Is a group of friends barbecuing, depicted in intense purple, yellow and pink the idyllic scene, or do the brushstrokes of Pim Blokker - inclined for abstraction – intentionally make you question that meaning? Come, slow down your pace and see for yourself.
Pim Blokker (1974) was born in Woerden, The Netherlands and currently is based in Amsterdam. He studied at the Konjnklijke Acadeie voor Beeldende Kunssten in Den Haag and did his residency at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. Recent solo and group exhibitions include: Foire International Contemporary Art Fair, Paris (2019), 'Summer Jam', W 139 Amsterdam (2018), “I used to be a liquor store” Villa de Bank, Kunstruimte, Enschede (2017), 'Heroes', Vallois Paris (2016) 'The Picture Show', American Academy Rome, Rome (2016), Edel Assanti, London (2016).
