| Gust Romijn | |
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Gust Romijn, born in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, on october the 3rd, 1922. Looking back on approximately sixty years of work, there is an undeniable oeuvre of Romijn in which the never-ending need for expression in all sorts of forms and materials can be clearly read. His career began in 1942; the first results were shown in 1945 at which point critics acclaimed his talent. He became an active member of the Rotterdam artists' community and in 1949 he was received into the 'Venstergroep'. His work is as the man himself: multilateral in the nature of the artworks, versatile in technique and versatile in the placement of the works. He made monumental paintings and sculptures for Ahoy' and E 55. During this period he became a member of Liga Nieuw Beelden. Paris and Milan are important moments through meetings with Alechinsky, Tajiri and Manzoni, the later developed into a long lasting friendship. The 'Rotterdam's Zerogroep' was initiated in 1958; Romijn and Manzoni were members. In 1962-'63 Romijn resided in New York. Even before his departure he was searching for new forms. In the artworks after New York baroque liveliness was exchanged for a simple and clear language form. Romijn is one of the Dutch artists who received commissions from quite divergent sources, ranging from the national government as well as provincial and local authorities. In 1965 he completed two large bronze sculptures for the city of Rotterdam; in the ensuing period painted steel played an increasingly more prominent role in his work. His largest sculpture in commission was executed for Schiphol in 1967. This 100 feet high sculpture is surprisingly different than other works from this period. This can be clarified to some extent from the various situations in which the sculptures were drafted and to some extent from the nature of Romijn himself. He personifies an artist that gives preference to the idea: little or nothing stands in his way, because he is not dependent on materials. He has in fact only one preference: that is to be himself. Up until his move to Dreischor in 1982 was Romijn a prominent artist in Rotterdam. Not only was he manifest with numerous solo- and group exhibitions and public commissions, but also as the artistic director (publicity, interior and stage designer) of the yearly 'Poetry and Film International'. In addition to that he was chief staff teacher of the sculpture department of the Rotterdam Academy of the Arts and head of the object and projects division at the Vrije Academie in The Hague and guest professor in Canada (Vancouver BC). In his spacious studios in Dreischor he created large paintings where the paint fluently wove patterns of color and form. Vehemence was exchanged for texture. A departure through transition from large, geometric, colored organic forms took place in 1994 from this contrast approach. Geometry is currently used to isolate parts of the painting in a 'pane'. From 1997 onward a third dimension is suggested in identical larger than life paintings through shifts in color and form. Romijn uses the computer beforehand to determine the compositions and test out various possibilities. In the summer of 2002 these works were shown as giant billboards in the landscape of Zonnemaire. A homage to Romijn and his Herculean fight with space. In 2003 he executed
a monumental work on the dyke at the caissons of Ouwerkerk, commissioned
by the town authorities of Schouwen-Duiveland to commemorate the flood
disaster which took place in February 1953. |