“Vrij Beelden”
'First Important Post-Waar Dutch 'artists group'
“COBRA” was not the only modern movement. “VRIJ BEELDEN” was earlier and overlapped “COBRA”.
“VRIJ BEELDEN” was disbanded in 1955 and until now it has not received the attention it deserves!
The artists in this group were willing to leave the old behind and experimented in order to arrive at a new modern art. Spontaneity as a base for new work. Not yet a complete goodbye to the figuration. The painters of “VRIJ BEELDEN” experimented with the legacy of modernism (Kandinsky, Klee, de STIJL, Miro, Ernst and Picasso). The variation in styles was therefore great.
The most important artists were: Willy Boers, Klaas Boonstra, Eugene Brands, Breetvelt, Ger Gerrits, Willem Hussem, Hunziker, Wim Kersten, Mark Kolthoff, Harrie van Kruiningen, Wil Leewens, Juul Neumann, P. Ouborg, Jan Roëde, Wim Sinemus, Piet van Stuivenberg, Koos van Vlijmen, André Volten, Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart and André van der Vossen.
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vrij beelden
vrij beelden part two
André van der Vossen; No title; oil on board; ca. 1949
From 1947 van der Vossen kept a diary which shows that he closely followed developments in the field of modern art. He was very impressed by the work of Klee and Kandinsky. The work from the period 1947-1955 is characterized by great diversity in styles, techniques and materials. He worked, among other things, Ripolin, gouache, watercolor, oil paint, Indian ink and also made monoprints, batks, stencil printings and collages of torn paper. His style varies from austere geometric to abstract expressionist.