Jan Andriesse

In Symmetry of Water and Regenboog (Rainbow - also in our collection) Andriesse confronts the problem of giving shape to physical phenomena in a painting. Here he adopts an almost scientific stance. His paintings are not a depiction of appearances but an approach to the essence of those physical phenomena The immense painting Regenboog is illusionistic and atmospheric. Symmetry of Water, on the other hand, isn’t atmospheric at all. This is a geometric composition in black and white,,evoking the quality of landscape due to its horizontality. Filtering through the white paint, beneath the horizontal beam of black, are the reflections of shapes in the upper part of the image. This suggests a reflection, like on a surface of water, yet symmetry doesn’t seem to occur here. Where, after all, is the reflection of the black horizontal element?