Steven Aalders

Steven Aalders
Born (1959-07-04) 4 July 1959 (age 65)
Middelburg, Netherlands

Steven Aalders (born 4 July 1959) is an abstract artist, known for his minimal geometric oil paintings.

Biography

Steven Aalders was born on 4 July 1959 in Middelburg, in the Netherlands, and grew up in Amsterdam. He studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (1979-1982), Croydon College of Art in London (1982-1983) and Ateliers 63 in Haarlem (1983-1985).[1] After winning the Royal Award in Painting in 1986 he worked in Barcelona for a year. In 2011 he undertook a residency at the Josef Albers Foundation in Bethany, Connecticut and in 2017 at the Van Doesburghuis in Meudon, Paris.[2][3]

Aalders lives and works in Amsterdam.

Exhibitions

Aalders had his first gallery solo show at Jurka Gallery in Amsterdam in 1987, and has exhibited regularly since then, particularly at the Slewe Gallery in Amsterdam. In 2002 he had his first single artist exhibition at a museum, entitled Vertical Thoughts at the Stedelijk Museum voor Aktuele Kunst in Ghent, Belgium.[4] In 2010 followed his exhibition Cardinal Points at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag (formerly known as the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague).[5] Parallel to this exhibition he published his book Cardinal Points, which presented an overview of more than fifteen years of work, with essays by Rudi Fuchs, Thomas Lange and Aalders himself.[6] In 2020 he made an installation at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, in which he referred to Van Gogh's painting Harvest.[7] In 2021/2022, his exhibition 'Seasons' was on view at the Kröller-Müller Museum, on which occasion a catalogue is published in collaboration with Hatje Cantz, with an overview of ten years work.[8][9] In 2017 the book The Fifth Line. Thoughts a Painter, was published by Koenig Books, in which Aalders' thoughts on art and particularly abstract art and its relation to the world are discussed in a series of interviews.[10]

Work

Aalders makes abstract oil paintings, influenced by the modernism of Mondrian and the American Minimal Art. His work is an attempt to embody the essence, to create light and space through paint. Also to remap the tradition of history of art. Modernist serial principles such as repetition and uniformity are linked to age-old concepts of depicting time and place. His use of colour reflects various colour concepts from the past. In his paintings he expresses the rhythm of life. In addition to his painting practice he has also written various texts on art and artists for newspapers, magazines and catalogues.[11][12][13][14]

Aalders is represented by Slewe Gallery, Amsterdam and Walter Storms Galerie in Munich.

Collections

His paintings have been collected internationally by both private and public collections, such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,[15] Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo,[16] Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, Museum Kurhaus Kleve,[17] AkzoNobel Art Foundation,[18] ABN AMRO Bank Art Collection,[19] BPD Art Collection,[citation needed] Over Holland Art Collection,[citation needed] Thoma Art Collection, Chicago[citation needed] amongst others.

Publications (selection)

2021: Steven Aalders, Seasons, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo / Hatje Cantz, Berlin (texts: Rudi Fuchs and Steven Aalders; design: Irma Boom)

2017: Steven Aalders, The Fifth Line. Thoughts of a Painter, Koenig Books, London. (design: Irma Boom)

2010: Steven Aalders, Cardinal Points, Gemeentemuseum The Hague (texts: Benno Tempel, Rudi Fuchs, Thomas Lange and Steven Aalders; design: Irma Boom)

2009: Steven Aalders, Place (Black, Brown, Beige, Grey & Ash), Mondriaanhuis, Amersfoort, NL (design: Irma Boom)

2002: Steven Aalders, Vertical Thoughts, S.M.A.K., Ghent (texts: Jan Hoet, Pietje Tegenbosch; design: Irma Boom)

Commissions

Aalders did several commissions. In collaboration with Reiach and Hall Architects in Edinburgh he designed an art work 'Frieze' for the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service in Edinburgh and a design for the glass panels for the Nuclear Archive, Wick in Scotland in 2017.[20][21] In collaboration with Group A, Rotterdam, Aalders made a design for the roof of the entrance parking lot Beatrixpark Beethovenstraat in 2016. In 2019 he made a pictorial installation at Huize Frankendael in Amsterdam.

References

  1. ^ Netherl, De Ateliers. "De Ateliers". Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  2. ^ "Josef Albers Foundation Residency". Josef Albers Foundation. 27 October 2021. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Steven Aalders (2017)". van doesburghuis. 2017-08-31. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  4. ^ "Vertical Thoughts". S.M.A.K. (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  5. ^ "Steven Aalders". Kunstmuseum Den Haag. 2014-04-17. Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  6. ^ "Steven Aalders, Cardinal Points - Idea Books". www.ideabooks.nl. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  7. ^ "Van Gogh Inspires Steven Aalders". Van Gogh Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  8. ^ "Steven Aalders Seasons | Kröller-Müller Museum". krollermuller.nl. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  9. ^ "Hatje Cantz Steven Aalders Seasons". 27 October 2021. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  10. ^ "The Fifth Line". Cornerhouse Publications. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  11. ^ "Catalogue Wayne Thiebaud". theshopvoorlinden. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  12. ^ Theewen, Gerhard. "Salon Verlag & Edition". Gerhard Theewen. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  13. ^ "Steven Aalders, Theo van Doesburg Hyperkubist" (PDF). 27 October 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  14. ^ Aalders, Steven (2010-09-10). "Met de rug naar de oorlog". Vrij Nederland (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  15. ^ "Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam". www.stedelijk.nl. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  16. ^ "Exhibition Steven Aalders | Kröller-Müller Museum". krollermuller.nl. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  17. ^ "Museum Kurhaus Kleve - Steven Aalders, Place". www.museumkurhaus.de. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  18. ^ "AkzoNobel Art Foundation". www.artfoundation.akzonobel.com. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  19. ^ ABN AMRO. "Jaarverslag 2021" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  20. ^ "Reiach and Hall Healthcare". www.reiachandhall.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  21. ^ "Reiach and Hall Public". www.reiachandhall.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-27.