Joost de Jonge

Through vibrant colors and abstract forms, Joost de Jonge’s paintings explore the metaphysical value of color. His works begin as sketches in the style of surrealist automatic writing. When de Jonge discovers a sketch with what he calls a “spark,” he modifies and enlarges it “to make it understandable to the viewer.” The artist plays with the texture of paint to vary hues and adjacent color relationships, and he creates depth and space through color contrasts. Like Paul Cézanne and his concept of “autonomous colors,” de Jonge seeks to reveal the individual and abstract nature of colors. He is similarly inspired by Mark Rothko's belief that the painter’s goal is clarity, which is achieved by eliminating obstacles between the painter, his idea, and the observer.