Julien van Middendorp is a Dutch painter,
renowned for his large-scale oil paintings, in which the colours combine and
mingle to form relationships and to create thoughts, fantasies and messages.
Colours, basically, are only labels for different wavelengths of light. In that
sense, colours “only” represent degrees of quantity. However, on Middendorp’s
paintings colours became essential qualities. A colour, not a line, is the
primary constitutive moment of the (ever-changing) structure of the world. This
is a crucial discovery made by Cézanne, van Gogh, Monet and others in the 19th
century, and very thoroughly investigated by artists of the 20th
century. And this discovery has kept its relevance until now. Julien van Middendorp
has always been aware of and has reflected this challenging journey of
liberating colour from shapes and figures and, in fact, dissociating a painting
from representation of things.
His works are based on a perfectly constructed
composition and the use of primary colours. This leads to the engagement of the
viewer’s sight, where colours are processed to form the resulting perceptions,
emotions, and, possibly, even some kind of behaviour. To paraphrase
Shakespeare, “the painting created by an artist is in the eye of the beholder.”
As far as the topic is concerned, Julien is
bountifully inspired by the urban life, its movements, flows and changes. The
urban universe provides his paintings strong organic dynamics.
What is very positive about Julien’s works
is its friendliness to those viewers who have not yet made their essential
decision to try to step (or rather jump) across the abyss between the concrete
and the abstract. While Julien’s paintings are basically abstract, a
viewer, standing in front of them, can mitigate his or her feeling lost or baffled
by anchoring in the safe haven of the concrete: figures, landscapes, harmonies
and music. But with the bonus of seeing and appreciating abstraction at the
same time.
Julien’s style has been influenced by the world-renown
artistic movement “Cobra” (1948–1951), with members such as Karel Appel, Pierre
Alechinsky and Asger Jorn. Julien uses primary colours as constitutive elements
of his artistic architecture. His paintings refer also to the Dutch artistic
movement “De Stijl”, which was founded by such renowned artists as Piet
Mondrian, Vilmos Huszár and Theo van Doesburg, in 1917.
Already since his childhood, Julien van
Middendorp has experimented with large-scale drawings and watercolours. Later, he
studied at the Nimeto, school of design in Utrecht, Netherlands. He has been
living and working in Prague for a couple of years now, finding fresh
inspiration in the local culture. This inspiration has led to a new collection
of oil paintings, which are now presented to the public. www.galleryvanmiddendorp.com
Quote
“All my work is a reflection of my
overactive imagination.“
Publications
2021/10 – GOLD LIST- Top Contemporary Artists of
Today - Art Market Magazine
2021 – Medicína a umění – Issue 3/2021 - Julien
van Middendorp
2021 – Boomer Magazine – topic: The new artists -
Julien van Middendorp
2021 - Bluebee Magazine - volume 6 – Amaryllis –
Julien van Middendorp
2020 - Art Market Magazine, Issue #51 September-
Strong Organic Dynamic
Awards
2021/10 – The GOLD LIST Award “Top Contemporary
Artists of Today”– A certificate of excellence for unique artistic style and
high-technique achievements in the contemporary art world
2020 - Light
Space & Time “10th Annual “Open”” 2020 Art Exhibition - Special Recognition
Award - Palm Springs, United States
2020 - Tall Sequoia
Gallery “Abstract MY World” Art & Photography Exhibition - Honourable
Mention Award Certificate - Boston, Canada
2020 - Light Space & Time “10th Anniversary” Online Art Exhibition-
Special Recognition Award - Palm Springs, United States
2020 -Light Space & Time “Created in Isolation” 2020 Art Exhibition-
Special Recognition Award - Palm Springs, United States
Solo exhibitions
2021 – Galerie
u Zlatého kohouta, “Individual Thought patterns”, Praha 1, the Czech Republic
2019 – BB Centrum
Alpha, “Living colour”, Prague, the Czech Republic
Group exhibitions
2021 – The Absent Gallery, “Spring Open Exhibition
2021", United Kingdom
2021 - M.A.D.S. Art
Gallery "KROMATIC@RT", Italy
2021 - Israeli Art
Market “Welcome 2021” Online Art Exhibition, Israel
2020 - BC Kerametal
Office Gallery “Christmas Art Mix2020”, Slovakia
2020 - Light Space & Time “10th Annual
“Open”” 2020 Art Exhibition/ Online Art Gallery - Palm Springs, United States
2020 - Tall Sequoia Gallery, “Abstract MY World”
Art & Photography Exhibition - Toronto, Canada
2020 - Light Space & Time, “Created in Isolation” 2020 Art Exhibition
/ Online Art Gallery - Palm Springs, United States
2020 - Light Space & Time Art Gallery, “10th Anniversary” Art Exhibition
2020 / Online Art Gallery - Palm Springs, United States
2020 - Gallery Pod Palmovkou, "PALM ART MIX: Miracle Factory" -
Bratislava, Slovakia
2020 - DoubleTree by Hilton, "Winter Art Mix" - Bratislava, Slovakia
2020 - BC Kerametal Office Gallery, “Summer Art Mix 2020" - Bratislava,
Slovakia
2020 - Audi Exklusive Gallery, "Summer ArtMix 2020" - Bratislava,
Slovakia
2018 - Industrial Palace, ART Fest - International Fair of Modern Art, Prague
Exhibition Centrum Holešovice - Prague, the Czech Republic
2017 - Industrial Palace, "Atelier ART Fest", Prague Exhibition
Centrum Holešovice - Prague, the Czech Republic
2017 - Gallery ART LINEA, "Beautiful Art of
the 21st Century" - Prague, the Czech Republic
