Richard Smeets - large mixed media on paper: Abstract composition -1997

Beautiful abstract representation by Richard Smeets from 1997. Dimensions top: H92 x w115cm. Dimensions: H81 x W97cm. The work is signed and dated lower right (1997) by the artist. The authenticity of this work is fully guaranteed. A certificate can be emailed upon request.
In reality the colors are much brighter than shown in the photo.


When purchased, the work can be picked up in 's-Gravenzande (near The Hague (Scheveningen), Rotterdam and Delft and 5 minutes from the beach). The collection period, if paid in advance, is very long. In other words, the buyer can pick up the work weeks or even months later and, if possible, combine it with a visit to one of the above-mentioned cities or the beach. We can also ship the work via a small art courier (Swift).

Frames: Damage to frames is not described. If a work is framed behind glass and the glass is broken, this will be stated. Reflection may be visible in photos of framed works.

Richard Smeets (Gennep, 1955) is a Dutch sculptor and painter working in Heijen.

Life and work
Richard Smeets trained at the City Academy of Visual Arts in Maastricht. Since the mid-1980s his work has been described as lyrical-abstract. In his own words, his work is accomplished in three phases. The basis is an experience, a memory, which the painter then materializes in paint and color.

Richard Smeets makes little use of sketches, but works from the impressions he has in his memory. In that sense, his works can be called expressionistic and are related to Willem de Kooning, Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky, Eugène Brands, Ger Lataster, Jef Diederen and Pieter Defesche. He also chooses his themes from the tradition of art history.

At the beginning of his career, woman is the central theme in the work. After that, his travels to Malaysia and Indonesia (his mother's country of birth) are the main source of inspiration. In the third period, which we can distinguish in his oeuvre, the Dutch landscape is the most important subject. He is also inspired by the famous work ''The Raft of the Medusa'' by the French painter Théodore Géricault, which forms the basis for a series of paintings that deal with the refugee problem in the Mediterranean. This project is entitled ''l'histoire se répète'' (2015 - 2018).

Smeets, like many contemporaries, is inspired by music, and conversely musicians Nard Reijnders (saxophone) and Bart Jan Baartmans (guitarist) are inspired by Smeets's painting, creating a unique interaction between these art forms, which is carried out by including the Netherlands Wind Ensemble.

Richard Smeets also makes sculptures of bronze, corten steel and polyester that are closely related to his painting. A good example of this is the large bronze with the title ''Table conversations''. Together with writer Marion Bloem, Richard Smeets wrote a book in which both responded to each other's work.