Reinder van der Woude

Reinder van der Woude was born in 1950 in Gorredijk (Friesland) and studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. His work consists of paintings, drawings, and graphics.

He usually works in his studio in Amsterdam but sometimes in a residency in Callosa (Spain) or Onlay in Morvan (France). Van der Woude also writes and creates music and films. He says, "My body of work branches out in multiple directions. My art comes from my life, which is equally diverse."

Van der Woude's many perspectives encompass landscapes, social scenes, cityscapes, text images, photo images, voluptuous women, and abstraction. However, in each work, you can recognize Reinder van der Woude, and his sensitivity to colour, transparency, irony, and lightness stand out. Realizing that a more profound meaning is futile but can still convey significance, Van der Woude combines lyricism, expression, concepts, riddles, humour, imagination, and playfulness.

He draws inspiration from Van Gogh, Matisse, and Barnett Newman. Andy Warhol stimulated him with his advertisement art. Van der Woude considered newspaper advertisements as easily attainable artworks. He also engaged in poster art: as an alternative to galleries, he distributed his art posters throughout the city. He often derives titles for his works from books or song lyrics.