One of the artists who created a work for the 25 x 25 x 25 exhibition is up-and-coming talent Jimi Kleinbruinink from Groningen.
By: Manon van der Neut
Kleinbruinink is one of the artists chosen by Galerie De Ploegh. He was inspired by Mondrian's later work in which geometry, rectangles and primary colours are key components. These are also key components in his work. He finds Mondrian's grey tree an inspiring work: 'You see a tree but you can make something else out of it'.
A kind of gemstone
He also admires Mondrian as a proponent of abstract art in general: 'You can't ignore Mondrian, he threw a big stone into the culture pond'. Kleinbruinink talks about his own work that he created: 'I put a lot of detail in a small scale, it's a kind of gemstone, an attractive object'.
For the installation artist, the requested size of the artwork was a challenge: 'I am used to working in a scale of 10 x 10 metres because you have to be able to enter my artwork. I like that this exhibition forces me to work smaller and still make something fun and attractive.'
The artist, who created the work in his studio, has used lightweight materials such as Styrofoam and cardboard. With paint, tape and polyester, he disguises what the core material is made of. Kleinbruinink's work was relatively short considering it was a smaller artwork than he is normally used to.
I have come to understand Mondrian better
He explains his reason for participating in this exhibition: 'I thought it would be fun to participate in the exhibition. De Ploegh is a congenial group of people. I have worked with them before and that has meant something to me too.'
The artist did start to understand Mondrian better since he created his artwork. 'I started studying him again and immersing myself in him. I have also become older and more mature myself and have come to understand better what all these greats like Mondrian were doing.'
You have to stay close to yourself
Kleinbruinink also finds Mondrian's work ethic admirable. 'Mondrian swam against the tide; he only gained recognition as an artist in the last phase of his life'.
The artist concludes his story: 'I understand him better as an artist, I learned that you need perseverance and to stay close to yourself'. Kleinbruinink himself likes to take these lessons to heart.
The exhibition 25 x 25 x 25 can be visited until 8 March 2020 at the Mondrian House Amersfoort