Joan van Barneveld

How can one reframe the artist’s position in making a painting? Can the artist fade from view? In his work, van Barneveld seeks to slowly vanish as the artistic agent in control of the painting so that the presence of the image stands alone. In concealing the subject matter, the artist calculates the composition and eventually devises methods to remove evidence of his hand from the work. His marks from the painting process therefore, dissolve and fade into a subliminal white glow. In his earlier works, he drew inspiration from his experiences as a performer and musician, particularly in the space and stillness before a show. How could one convey the sensibility of waiting in the wings glancing outward and into the dark vastness of an empty stage?

After nine years of exclusively making black works, in 2015 color returned into van Barneveld’s paintings and with that an invitation for an openness in the compositions. He began experimenting with various methods of screen-printing and developed a method where the image was screen-printed in white onto a colored canvas. This method allowed for a painting process where the image appeared to be drawn out from within the canvas. Thereby, contrasting traditional screen-printing techniques where the external and predetermined image is imprinted onto the canvas.

Joan van Barneveld’s current work demonstrates a clarity and commitment to this distinct method of working. His ongoing engagement with reductive processes in painting, he responds to the image in constant negotiation between minimizing the evidence of painterly gestures and obscuring the subject matter in his work. Therefore, the paintings radiate and slowly fade in and outward to embody almost expressionless yet subliminal sensations.

Submitted by Galerie Fontana