VOUCH III
30 maart - 2 april 2023, Loods 6 Amsterdam
Within Vouch, artists stand up for each other and share their networks.
Vouch stands for meeting, giving, sharing and celebrating.
She wants to share surprising, contemporary art with people. She does this in a very exclusive and personal way.
Vouch is therefore only accessible by invitation.
A fragile balance (2020)
From 20 to 31 May, Wim Jacobs presents his exhibition ‘A fragile balance’ in art gallery Ruimte 34 in Antwerp.
Wim Jacobs amazes!
The subtle interplay between spontaneity and detail in his abstract oil paintings is a rare and precious thing in our fleeting society.
Jacobs takes his time, working one layer at a time, observing, using his imagery to create a universe all his own. The process becomes his guiding principle, resulting in a fragile balance between colour, form and composition. Jacobs' work invites pause, reflection and imagination. It challenges us to immerse ourselves and partake in the creative process of prolonged observation.
Come and see!
- Camilla Antonneau
Gazet van Antwerpen, Elien van Wynsberghe, October 2020
Credits: Bert de Bock Media
De Standaard Weekblad, Hear hier, Sam De Wilde, May 2020
Composing the perhaps (2020) - postponed due to covid-19!
Van 4 april tot 16 mei presenteert Galerie Bart de expositie ‘Composing the perhaps’ van Wim Jacobs in Amsterdam.
Geen volgeschilderde doeken, maar een betrekkelijke leegte van waaruit vormen en kleuren naar voren treden. Wim Jacobs is spaarzaam met zijn beeldelementen. Tegenover de bedachtzame wijze waarop details op het doek worden gezet, ontstaat echter een element van spontaniteit. ‘Ik bevraag mijn werk voortdurend, zoek naar beelden, bouw en construeer. Ik kijk lang, wacht met het maken van keuzes, maar neem af en toe risico’s, waarbij gelukjes en toevalligheden een rol mogen spelen.’
Kenmerkende vormen herhalen zich en markeren een herkenbare eigen beeldtaal. De handeling van het schilderen vormt de basis van alles. De eerlijkheid waarmee de materialen – olieverf, potlood en oliekrijt, maar ook de structuur van het doek als drager – zich tonen, geeft een persoonlijk inkijkje in het maakproces, zonder dat het werk al zijn geheimen prijsgeeft. Al kijkend word je zo deelgenoot van het Wims aftasten, zoeken, ineens iets met zekerheid weten en dat weer in twijfel trekken.
Waar eerder werk poëtischer en dromeriger van aard was, spreekt er uit zijn meest recente werk meer expressie. ‘De schilderijen zijn explicieter geworden, betrekken de kijker meer.’ De kentering werd teweeg gebracht door een reeks vlotte oliekrijttekeningen, die Wim dwongen tot het maken van snelle en duidelijke keuzes, een werkwijze die hij overnam in zijn schilderijen. Het werk lokt nu, mede door de directe aantrekkingskracht van de kleuren en vormen, een nog grotere nieuwsgierigheid uit naar de wereld waarin ze zich voordoen. ‘Een dimensie waar je in kunt stappen, je mee kunt omringen en op ontdekkingstocht kunt gaan.’
- Merel Van de Nieuwenhof
Museumtijdschrift.nl, January 2020
Blanks (2019)
From 1 to 24 February, art gallery National 55 presents the exhibition ‘Blanks’, showcasing recent work of Wim Jacobs.
Wim Jacobs attended the Sint-Lukas Academy in Brussels, where he studied Fine Arts.
Over a ten-year period, his predominantly figurative work evolved into abstract, expressive imagery. In the abstraction of his art, Jacobs always attempts to strike a balance between form, texture and colour. His use of oil paints supports this creative process and enables him to work slowly, one coat and layer at a time. Each addition to the canvas can take the work into new directions, creating a novel composition. This way, the painting process as such becomes the guiding principle of the work.
Wim Jacobs’ quest for equilibrium often continues into other works, thereby inspiring a series (or multiple series) of paintings that enter into an extended dialogue. In doing so, his oeuvre never ceases to evolve.
The expo ‘Blanks’ combines key elements of Jacobs’ signature imagery. Subtle or stark paint and colour surround – and combine with – sharp, bold outlines that create the illusion of portholes, seemingly affording glimpses of the world beyond the canvas. The vivid and colourful palette is continually offset by the fragile balance between form and figuration.
The title of the exhibition ‘Blanks’ also evokes what remains unseen in the paintings. A staple of Jacobs’ work is the use of white and virgin (unpainted) spaces, which do away with the distraction of a backdrop, requiring colour and form to exert their full effect.
The painted lines and shapes demarcate spaces and direct the gaze and attention to what should (or must) be seen. As a result, each work seems to extend an invitation to the viewer, asking him to assume the position of the painter and repeat the creative process of prolonged observation. The paintings, however, only show what the painter is willing to share: the ‘blanks’ are left to an outside imagination.
- Loes Jacobs
Thoughts on the work of Wim Jacobs (2019)
‘Intriguing! But what is the story, and how does it affect me?’
Last February, I was introduced to the work of artist Wim Jacobs, exhibiting eight of his paintings in the National 55 gallery in Antwerp.
I watch and continue watching and make out childishly naïve hieroglyphs – a tree, a game console, a TV, an animal, an ice cream.
Here is a lost world, conjured back to life intuitively. I see fading internal landscapes, playful meditations. Paintings that use colour sparingly, somewhat coolly… interspersed with sudden highlights, and a lot of white. These oft-ethereal paintings drift and float, never touching the edges. As if the artist is treading carefully, almost hesitantly, along the verges of the void. One brushstroke too many, one image or shape too far, one colour too garish, and the painting must fail and self-destruct.
The exhibition was called ‘Blanks’. White spaces, then, and emptiness. Holes in a memory, a vacuum that lingers. But ‘blanks’ are also practice cartridges that contain only noise and confusion. When they are spent, these too will dissolve. There is no real harm done.
In this sense, the paintings of Wim Jacobs strike me as intuitive monologues of powerlessness, fighting a losing battle against dissolution and disappearance.
And they are also lovely to look at.
- Bob Maes
De Standaard Weekblad, Hear Hier, Sam De Wilde, February 2019