Berend Boorsma, Artist

About me

I work as an individual, outside convention or trend. When I paint, I try to be free of - a priori - ideas and try to tap into my own experience of life and nature that lives within me, and is expressed by the shapes and colors, that are manifested on canvas. For me, every painting I do is a (spiritual) journey… It is my sincere belief in a deeper universal visual language or truth, that inspires me to draw or paint. I try to commit to “pure painting” – painting which has detached itself from the world of objects or ideas and explores endless possibilities. Enigmatic configurations in my paintings resemble either semi-abstract geometric objects that are subtly folded or stacked, or graphic elements, in the manner of calligraphy, or concentrated areas of colour, circles and patterns, resembling indistinct figures and reminiscent in visual language to that of symbolist, cubists and expressionists painters such as Fernand Léger, Paul Klee and V.S. Gaitonde. 
I think about art in synaesthetic terms, as a form of expression that could resemble a musical piece by turning away from the objective world. By practicing Win Chun kungfu and Tai Chi, I strive towards a a meditative disposition, which allowed me to consider painting as a spiritual journey, exploring the limits of perception by playing with visibility and invisibility in painting. In terms of my working method, I prefer to use oil-paint, building up the surface of my canvas in a very physical way and taking extensive time for each piece.