Jaap Wagemaker

Stone Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1964; thence by descent

Düsseldorf, Galerie Gunar, Jaap Wagemaker, 1958
Düsseldorf, Galerie Gunar, Gust Romijn, Skulpturen und Zeichnungen, Jaap Wagemaker, Ölbilder und Gouaches, 1960
London, Marlborough New London Gallery, Woty Werner, Jaap Wagemaker, Hans Jaenisch, 1963
Newcastle upon Tyne, Stone Art Gallery, Jaap Wagemaker - Austin Cooper, 1964, no. 3
Newcastle upon Tyne, Laing Art Gallery, 1968 - 1996 (on loan)
Dublin, St James' Hospital, 1998 - 2015 (on loan)

Simon den Heijer and Marike van der Knaap, Aarde in Verf Jaap Wagemaker, Schilder van het elementaire 1906-1972, catalogue raisonné, Amsterdam, 1995, p. 149, no. S. 57-016, catalogued & illustrated

 

The canvas has not been lined. There is one small nail hole in the centre left edge, and some fine craquelure in the black background to the left framing edge. This work is in good original condition and ready to hang. Presented in a narrow black frame.
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Wagemaker was one of the leading exponents of Matterism, a style which evolved in Belgium and the Netherlands during the 1950s. Matterism sought to explore the expressive power of natural materials by embedding objects such as shells, metal filings and sand into thickly applied paint. In Ravin Rouge Wagemaker's use of rich earthy pigments in the sculpted impasto give the impression of a work created by powerful natural forces.

Having moved to Amsterdam in 1946, Jaap Wagemakers’s early works are imbued with CoBrA’s colourful expressionism.  Yet, the artist was not interested in seeking affiliation; it was in fact in Paris where, having moved in 1952, he became acquainted with the work of Jean Dubuffet and developed his own personal style which explores both the ‘matterism’ of Art Informel and the new techniques of assemblage. Indeed, works by Wagemaker were included in the pivotal 1961 exhibition The Art of Assemblage at MoMa, New York.