Frans Horbach, a Dutch artist, set foot on New York soil for the first time at the age of seventeen. He traveled via a cargo ship from Rotterdam, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Willem de Kooning who had also made the transatlantic journey years before. Two years later, Horbach made a permanent move to California, leaving behind his homeland.
During his time as a professional artist in America, Horbach was heavily influenced by the New York School, a group of American lyrical abstract expressionists including renowned artists such as Rothko, Pollock, and De Kooning. Their ideas, techniques, and most importantly, their vibrant energy and confident self-expression deeply resonated with Horbach.
In addition, Horbach’s encounters with indigenous Indian people during his travels in the American South-West and Mexico subtly impacted his work. These experiences became an integral part of his philosophical framework, enriching his appreciation for physical space in both a poetic and artistic sense. Eventually, his long-standing interest in oriental art and philosophy also influenced his art, resulting in a distinct likeness to the aesthetic sensibilities of traditional Japanese art.
Though his more recent paintings may appear to be simple geometric constructions compared to his earlier work, there lies a delicate complexity in their creation. Horbach expertly balances tension, contrast and dimensional harmony to create subtle shifts in color and perspective, inviting the viewer to interpret and experience the artwork in their own unique way. These layered surfaces and structures, combined with an informal application of paint, mirror the instability and movement of our perceptual processes. They serve as a tool to assist us in understanding and appreciating the passing of time and the notion of space through the lens of art.
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