Paul van der Eerden (1954) and Romy Muijrers (1990) began their collaborative project, SUITE, in 2018, for which they produced a series of collective drawings. One of the artists begins by making an initial sketch or stain on the paper, upon which the other artist elaborates. This process continues over several sessions until the drawing is complete. While Van der Eerden works mainly with strong contrasts and clear lines, Muijrers’ approach is more detailed and softer by nature. Although the two hands can be initially distinguished, they gradually converge in a symbiosis in which the viewer appears to be dealing with a single artist that continually evolves.
When describing the SUITE collaborative drawings of Romy Muijrers and Paul van der Eerden, art historian Hans Locher said: The special joint drawings, in which the so very different imaginations appear provocatively as allies or counterparts or mysteriously immerse together in a wonderful medium.
SUITE is, ultimately, a conversation.
In music, separate movements are coupled tonally. In poetry, different literary stems can be eventually formed into one voice.
Paul van der Eerden and Romy Muijrers’ pencils also engage in dialogue. Each artist breaks into the way in which the other draws. Not through interruptions, but through a creative dance in which two styles clash but finally converge.
Suite 054, 2018, (colour) pencil and graphite on paper, 20 x 36 cm, text: e.e. cummings, private collection.
Suite 049, 2019, (colour) pencil, graphite on paper, 21 x 14.7 cm, text: Revelation of John. € 1.000,-
How can harmony be achieved in difference? How can two individual creative processes intertwine successfully?
Suite 062, Putti: Rubens, 2019, (colour)pencil, graphite, pigmentmarker on paper, 14,7 x 21 cm € 1.000,-
Suite 169, Angel: Neri di Bici, 2020, (colour)pencil, graphite, pigmentmarker on paper, 21 x 14,7cm € 1.000,-
Suite 066, 2019, (colour)pencil, graphite, pigmentmarker on paper, 14,7 x 21 cm, text: Meng Jao € 1.000,-
SUITE is a conversation between the visual and the literary.
Isolated, rhythmical figures accompany E.E. Cummings’ innovative use of punctuation. Fragments of ‘The Dancer’ by Philip Larkin epitomize the choreographic character of the drawings. Lines from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Richard III and The Tempest are pictorially explored.
Suite 132, Time after Time, 2020, (colour)pencil, pigmentmarker, graphite, 14,7 x 24,5 cm, text: Cindy Lauper. sold
Is it so that the words guide the form? SUITE drawings are not illustrations of poetic subject matter, but visual and chromatic reinterpretations of language use.
Suite 047, 2019, (colour)pencil, pigmentmarker, graphite on paper, 14,7 x 21 cm, private collection.
Suite 021, 2018, (colour)pencil, graphite on paper, 20 x 25 cm, text: Joni Mitchell. private collection
SUITE is a conversation between figuration and abstraction.
Certain shapes become recurring motifs. It is inevitable to wonder if the artists placed them as figurative elements or if our human stupendous pattern-recognition abilities push us to recognize figuration in the abstract.
Suite 129, 2019, (colour)pencil, graphite, pigmentmarker, 14,7 x 19,6 cm, text: William Blake. € 950,-
It is a conversation between clear outlines and soft volumes, colours and grey-scales.
Suite 068, 2019, (colour) pencil, graphite, pigment marker, 21 x 14,7 cm, text: Stevie Smith. € 1.000,-
Suite 112, 2020, (colour) pencil, graphite on paper, 14,7 x 21 cm, text: Joan Armatrading. € 1.000,-
Lines delimiting anthropomorphic forms share the space with twirling shapes and corrugated patterns. At the same time, these shapes sneak onto the surface of the suggested bodies, adding visual layers and deepening the drawing. A dancer? A three fingered hand? A map?
SUITE is a conversation between the present and the past. Paul and Romy often refer to the visual language of artists that precede them.
Indian Miniature’s anatomical approach. The uncanny calmness of Giorgio the Chirico’s meticulous, metaphysical paintings. The energetic mysticism of Gustave Moreau's subject matter and William Blake’s illuminated printing.
Japanese prints’ flat treatment of space. Fernand Leger’s geometric compositions, where long, cylindrical forms are emphasized, or Pablo Picasso’s oeuvre at length, intervened either humorously, anagramically, or using archival photographs as a basis for some collages.
Suite 158, Victor Hugo, 2020, (colour) pencil, graphite on paper, 21 x 14,7 cm. Text: Shakespeare Richard III € 1.000,-
Suite 079, 2018 Pablo Picasso, 2018, (colour) pencil, pigment marker, collage, staples, 14,7 x 21 cm € 1.000,-
SUITE is a conversation between spaces, both real and fanciful.
Many drawings allude to Victor Hugo's architectural fantasies. Floating castles connected by undulating tunnels, the depiction of implausible constructions, and architectural forms that evolve into abstract motifs. Inspired by George Perec’s ruminations on spatial concepts, the artists work with the ultimate creative space: the page, first blank and then filled.
For further information on a specific work or the artist please contact the gallery at info@mauritsvandelaar.nl or call (+31)-(0)70-3640151.