BorzoGallery
Frieze New York 2019

The ultimate quest for simplicity, clarity and the symbolic, characterise the minimalist oeuvre of Dutch artist Ad Dekkers. His fascination for the drawn line took him on to the exploration of its third dimension, which he achieved by applying saw-cuts in perfectly smooth panels or by assembling panels one on top of the other in a defined pattern.

During his education at the Rotterdam Academy, Dekkers became fascinated by the work of Piet Mondrian, Ben Nicholson and Hans Arp and the visual language of these artists remained a life-long guiding principle throughout Dekkers’ work. Along with his older contemporary Jan Schoonhoven with whom he had a mutual relationship of respect and admiration although they followed different paths to the white relief.

Dekkers’ work did not remain unnoticed during his short lifetime. His Amsterdam gallerist Riekje Swart spread his reputation to an international clientele of collectors and museums. A highlight in Dekker's reputation was his exhibition in the 1967 Sao Paulo Biennale (together with Jan Schoonhoven and Peter Struycken) as well as participation in the 1968 Kassel Documenta (in the same room as Elsworth Kelly).

His work is included in the collection of the MoMa, NY and in several important private collections in the US. Ad Dekkers’ oeuvre - due to his early death - is quite limited to some 300 reliefs, spanning from 1962 till 1974.