Johan Kleinjan | Bedankt voor die bloemen

Johan Kleinjan (1974) works in a characteristic unpolished style with a special use of colour. His works of art originate from his fascinations, which can consist of strange everyday things. To name a few: Formula 1, the participants of Tempation Island and victims of the Stalin terror. Johan also has a fascination for plants, to be more specific, ’krisisplanten’: plants left behind on the street that are given a new life and are being cared for in Johan's studio. He treats the leftover bunches of flowers he receives from a local flower shop in the same loving way. He draws them with pastel chalk to give them eternal life on paper. He gave this series the title Bedankt voor die bloemen, as a tribute to the Pope.

The work of Johan Kleinjan has been exhibited in various solo and group exhibitions. His work is greatly appreciated in Asia, where he also did several residencies, for example at the Institute For Provocation in Beijing, China, which collaborates with the Mondriaan Fund. Since 2018 he has worked closely with Galerie Fleur & Wouter, where he held special exhibitions about the victims of the American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and his fascination with the American Bounty Hole racing culture. His work is represented in various private and corporate collections. Johan was part of art collective Antistrot (1997 - 2010) and has been a member of art collective KAMP HORST since 2010. In October 2021 he will present his work together with Bas Kosters in the duo exhibition WILD at Galerie Fleur & Wouter.

Mai van Oers

The drawings of Mai van Oers are worlds in which familiar elements together form an alienating image. Cathedrals, tombs, fairytale figures and animals live in environments full of structures that can sometimes be traced back to reality and sometimes follow their own logic. Mai starts her drawings without a preconceived plan, during the process references arise, such as her childhood with the nuns, art historical sources of inspiration are integrated, such as the Tres Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry, but also what influences her life at that moment finds a place on the paper.

Her work is included in several corporate and museum collections, for example Kennedy van der Laan, Amsterdam Bouwfonds Kunstcollectie, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Teylers Museum and Centraal Museum Utrecht, among others. In 2000 she was awarded the Jeanne Oosting Prijs voor de schilderkunst. For the last years Mai van Oers has worked with Galerie Rob de Vries in Haarlem and with Galerie Fleur & Wouter in Amsterdam.

Saar Scheerlings

Unfolding a tea box provided Saar Scheerlings (Eindhoven, 1990) a form. She decided to paint it the way she saw at a weavers' village in the Himalayas. These forms took on a life of their own. They led to collages, sculptures and thrones. Saar builds the material culture of a fictitious civilization. Inspired by ethnographic collections in museums, textile crafts and building methods the work is a search for a sense of inspiration and meaning such as we know from ancient cultures and religious artifacts like Talismans. In doing so, Saar looks at traditional ways of making. She works with second-hand materials such as special sorts of paper and fabrics from old theaters. In contrast to the speed and technologization of today's society, Saar's artworks are a plea for craftsmanship and durability.

After graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven, Saar Scheerlings (NL, 1990) set out on a path that has led to the creation of visual art. Her art is an endless mill of production, constantly susceptible to outside influences. It is a process like a trade route or port where all kinds of previously unknown things can influence each other. Her work has been shown in various international museum shows, such as Zuiderzeemuseum, Fries Museum, Design Museum Gent and Dutch Parade, Hanwha Galleria Seoul, South Korea. Saar lives and works in the remote village of Le Maupas, France. This year we presented her work in a solo booth at Art Rotterdam.