Rik van Iersel was born in 1961 in Maastricht, Netherlands. He currently resides and works in Eindhoven. In the early stages of his career, van Iersel delved into the realm of cartoon illustration. However, he eventually shifted his artistic focus to the possibilities of painting, both technically and subjectively. Despite his lack of formal education, van Iersel’s work aligns with the ethos of Art Brut, celebrating marginalized and outsider artists, and the COBRA movement, which saw a resurgence of expressionism.
Over the years, van Iersel has honed a unique collection of raw and authentic subject matter, blending his everyday experiences with his internal musings. Painting, for him, is a never-ending and all-consuming journey of discovery. It allows him to satisfy his constant curiosity and explore the complexities of human relationships in all its forms. The act of painting itself is a powerful form of communication for van Iersel, with the dynamic nature of the process fueling his artistic expression. His use of thick, vibrant paints, charged color palettes, bold and determined strokes, and free-flowing sketches and textures reveal a raw and unrestrained approach to art. The elongated body structures, distorted facial expressions, and whimsical lines all contribute to the idiosyncratic nature of van Iersel’s work, displaying both intense psychology and childlike innocence.
www.ftn-books.com has an excellent collection of van iersel publications.
