Casper Verborg

This painting is a diptych inspired in composition and dimensions by the two surviving fragments of ‘Dejeuner sur l’herbe’ (1873-74) from the French impressionist painter Claude Monet. It shows a bunch of people having a lunch in the park. This subject was the reason for me to process observations about this time, images from the newspaper and impressions from my immediate surroundings and combine them in a painting. The title ‘Anagnorisis (picnic in the park)’ not only refers to Monet’s painting, it is also a reference to Aristotle. The Greek word Anagnorisis means as much as recognition or discovery. Aristotle used it in his essay Poetics to identify the moment in a tragedy when the protagonist gains an important insight. This can be the situation he is in, the true nature of his actions or its consequences.

During my everyday painting process I’m using newspapers for making marks or to add or wipe out the paint. These dirty yet beautiful pages are piling up in my studio. Now I have used them to create colorful collages, combined with small oil painted observations during the lockdown period in The Hague.

In the left panel you can see a meeting between the presidents Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, while the right wing is dominated by a bright yellow gorilla. The title, offspring, offers room for interpretation. After all, both man and gorilla have a common ape-like ancestor. Both gorillas and the two powerful men are known for their pounding, the first literally, the second figuratively. The gorilla is in general a perennial herbivorous species, which prefers not to interfere too much with other species. Is it preferable to humanity? And to what extent do you, as a human being, feel represented by the two presidents? And there is more: the figures are placed in a room full of abstract, organic structures. The bright yellow of the gorilla dominates the entire scene; it comes back in Kim's clothes and in the structures in the upper half of the paintings. These different colored structures, however based on real structures, are in fact purely painterly, they create a painterly space and in fact they obstruct the interpretation. You could argue that the gorilla and the structures triumphantly and colorfully triumph over humanity, but you could also think of a dream, maybe even a nightmare.  (Albertus Pieters)

A man with a brush and a nice suit is sitting in a chair. It is the painter himself. He is surrounded by a vast red background, painted with large, horizontal and energetic brushstrokes. Abstract forms are dripping into the canvas. They move from the above left corner towards the lower right. I am inspired by Jungian archetypes. Very often, the most valuable moments of the painting process are the ones where I take some distance, sit in my chair and observe the development of the work, and let images come into my mind.

A person with a mask is standing in a strange, bright yellow and dark purple coloured landscape. On the background you can see two other small figures, dressed in black and with red masks. They are approaching an abandoned place, with a big white tree and a flag.  I started this painting by freely adding colours and shapes onto the canvas. This process is influenced by the mood I'm in. It defines the rhythm and vividness of the painting. Whilst time moved on, the colour and shapes transformed into this landscape. Later on, I added the figures. When choosing figures, I am inspired by archetypes and larger than life creatures that seem to fit in the created scene.

This painting appeared to me when I was image streaming. I saw a colorful landscape, with bright yellow and orange trees, and a dark sky. In this landscape a rider appeared, sitting on a white horse.

t began with abstract area's of paint. During the process, they transformed into clouds and a sky, a deserted landscape with some plants. It had a mysterious atmosphere, as if something could happen there. When I placed the figures, I wanted to enhance this feeling of a secret gathering. The painting is called 'the griots' because the figures reminded me of the minstrels in Africa: the people who tell tales and fables.

In this painting I began with a quick drawing of a house, loosely based on the ‘Bates Motel’ which appears in Hithcocks Psycho. I took this image as a starting point, because I like the eeriness that is part of it. While painting, more and more parts of the house disappeared and were transformed into objects, or parts of objects that are reminiscent of stage design. In my paintings I often use found footage as a starting point.

I am interested in the construction of stories. Usually I start with a collage consisting of people in a room. What began as a large crowd ended up as three figures. While the painting continued, the surrounding became a moody place. I like to use source images of ordinary people, pictures taken decades ago. By adding layers of paint, the figures lose their individual personality, thus becoming larger than life, an archetype.