'Making a point with a line'.

The boundaries of language and the art process as an ecosystem.

As a painter and craftsman, Vincent de Boer seeks for poetry and nuances in the calligraphic line. He explores the limits of language by asking the question: can you tell a complete story in a single letter? A universe that opens up in one line? Driven by a fascination for the traces left after making a movement, Vincent explores his self-imposed technical challenges. While calligraphy is primarily known as a textual tool, Vincent is more interested in the mystical contradictions hidden within it, such as the depth of a flat surface, transcendental time and elusive tactility.

When drawing a line in ink, a separation occurs. The black ink splits the white paper in two. What you create - a black line -, is as important as what you don't create: the white space surrounding it. Calligraphy and its artistic process thus become universal metaphors for permanence and the lack thereof: the effect of an action is irreversible. A line creates opposition and demands a choice: left or right, yes or no, one or zero. However, the line also shows that much is possible between two extremes; the energy with which the line is drawn makes all the difference. Today's visual culture hardly requires imagination: most of it is instant and obvious, without room for ambiguity or nuance. But what happens between the ones and zeros? In the act of a split second, an entire story unfolds in black and white.

The stroke that Vincent makes across the paper is determined by all sorts of external factors. Our environment is all-determining; nothing can be experienced without its context. Thus, the studio, the materials, the space, everyday experiences and the energy of the moment all are reflected in his work. Vice versa, how we as viewers feel also determines the way we experience Vincent's work. It is a poetic, almost overwhelmingly romantic thought that all the factors that led to the drawing of one line are captured in the many minute nuances within each calligraphic line. It shows us how subjective the brushstroke is for Vincent. Thus, the artwork becomes a metaphor for life: an interconnective system that interacts with itself on multiple levels, with one movement setting another in motion. Vincent's work develops like an ecosystem: it needs to be fed so that it gives back. "A system only works if it is agile," he states critically in the face of the current zeitgeist. This insight permeates the artwork, which in turn permeates his working method: like ripples in water, a small gesture has infinite echoes.Which detail we highlight within a complex system will ultimately determine everything.

In his works, Vincent depicts a reality that pays attention to the environment we need as human beings. Each brushstroke has hundreds of tiny nuances: not all visible to everyone, but enough to enter on any level. The simpler the work seems, the more complexity it can contain. Attention is a scarce good these days. That’s why Vincent tells his audience and students about the importance of taking time and giving attention. ‘Don't get distracted from your priorities.’ For instance, his work benefits enormously from his weekly ‘no-phone-day’.

Vincent's current process takes place on long scrolls of paper, within a work setup created by friend and colleague Jonas Wijtenburg. Each day he works on a new, empty piece, which he then rolls away, making room for the next piece. The machine works like a seismograph: Vincent records everything with every gesture: from the vibration of his hand, the energy in the space, to the things that affect him formally and artistically. Through this approach, the making process becomes the work of art; human action in balance with the (eco)system. Along the way, through poetic experiences, the audience can feel, rather than know, about its own place in the universe.

Linda Köke, May 2023

Photo by Arthur Martin

Highlights

Selected Collections

Rijksoverheid Dutch Government
Eye Museum Amsterdam
ING Art Collection Amsterdam
ASR Art Collection and Conservation Utrecht
Letterform Archive San Fransisco
K.F.Hein Funds Netherlands

Grants

2022 | Project Support w/City Canvas Mondriaan Fund, Gem. Utrecht, ASR
2021 | Artist Project Support Mondriaan Fund NL
2020 | The Stroke, Animation project Creative Industries Fund NL
2019 | Artist in Residence Japan K. F. Hein Fonds Utrecht
2019 | Solo show, Sapporo, Japan International Culture Policy of the NL Embassy Tokyo
2018 | All Eyes on Type Festival Creative Industries Fund NL
2017 | Arabic Type Fest icw. Minem Sezgin Creative Industries Fund NL

Selected Commissions

Current and Upcoming Shows

All Shows

Teacher

Awards

Talks

LP Covers

Publications

© 2024 Vincent de Boer. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying, reproduction,
hiring, lending, public performance, sharing and broadcasting is prohibited.