Dutch painter, Piet Van Den Boog born in 1951 currently lives and works In Amsterdam. His work is included in many important international museums and collections, has found a new view of the figure and portrait by way of an alchemic process that promotes effects of chemistry on the picture plane. With base metals like lead, copper, steel these form a grand visual allegory about rediscovering the human soul.
Piet Van Den Boog breaks down metal via chemical compounds to create sections of his paintings such as the oranges and cyan colours that can be seen in the piece ‘Alexis’. The alchemist-esk method of working is very juxtapositional as it creates organised chaos to a degree. The metal is prepared and placed where he ideally would like the colour to appear however there’s a sense of unknown as the colour could appear quite differently to how he imagined and it’s a method that’s very hard to control, it would be impossible recreate a piece exact due to the sheer randomness of the method. I like the method a lot though I think it really adds depth to the piece, for me the unpredictability of these chemical compounds is fun and leans on the side of abstract. With their complex medium of two-toned steel, two types of paint, and a top layer of clay, these paintings take on an innovative textural and dynamic quality. ”Van den Boog’s work is exciting and emotionally rich in that as viewers we participate in his process and feel transformed by it. In a interview with Piet Van Den Boog he described the method of his work: “As I said the surface I make my paintings on are sheets of lead (glued on wood panel). The material allows me to combine classic painting techniques with acrylic and oil with chemical processes. The chemical processes always start with patination of the lead surface. Plates of copper and steel are used in combination with different chemicals to create the vibrant colors. These colors are deposited on the lead surface that remain after the plates are removed. They range from intense orange, yellow iron oxide to green and blue patinas and to the vibrant color of Azurite and malachite. (Malachite is a color mined already in ancient times).”
Another thing that really drew me to his work is the contrasting delicate portrait that comes along side this chaotic method. There’s a lot of detail in these portraits with the palette focused mainly on pink tones which is unusual we can see a few blues and oranges also peek through now and then. I really like the choice of colours in his work because as I’ve said previously it has an abstract tone. Furthermore these pinks provide a nice contrast to the blues providing an aesthetically pleasing piece of art to say the least. The portrait section of his pieces are mainly done in either acrylic or oil paint and really pop along side the chemical compounds as if they were two different pieces of art.
The subject of the portrait themselves is also very important they seem to be holding an air of mystery about them, they’re very naturally posed yet they are not caught off guard or candid. This creates more detailed meaning behind the work. I feel that along side these chemical compounds that he’s breaking down he’s also breaking down meanings behind life and the stereotypical portrait as you can see there is nothing conventional about these pieces. One thing that is definitely not sacrificed in these portraits is the eyes, despite the unpredictable chemical compounds it’s clear that’s its made sure the eyes are kept in tact and remain detailed, they are the windows to the soul in these paintings and I think are a bit feature in the work. The piece ‘I myself am made entirely’ is a good example of this, despite the vast layering the eyes are still direct and piercing and undoubtedly the first thing you’re drawn to creating an air of mystery around this character.
Personally what I like about his work is the colours of the compounds more than the actual process itself and also the undertones of the pink portraits. I think they contrast very nicely and I think with the layering and the way it’s created it makes a lot of depth and detail. Despite this being a portrait, and a detailed realistic one at that, it still leans a lot on the side of abstract for me which is something I’d like to look at in the future; combining realism and abstract to create a perfect balance.
Video of Piet Van Den Boog working: https://youtu.be/2i2LI4ai1fM
A Level Art 