Kees van de Wal

Kees van de Wal (born in 1967 in Oirschot) is a Dutch visual artist who lives and works in Zaltbommel. He is inspired by form, color, and material and fits into a line of artists who strive for poetic tranquility. His work deliberately distances itself from spectacle, inviting silence, attention, and contemplation. This approach is becoming increasingly relevant in a visually overstimulated world.

Van de Wal studied at the Grafisch Lyceum Eindhoven and later took various courses in drawing, painting, and etching. Between 2009 and 2016, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arendonk (Belgium), where he completed his painting studies with honors and subsequently obtained a specialization degree with high distinction.

His work began with paintings inspired by tranquil, expansive landscapes, but quickly developed into an abstract, minimalist visual language. Since around 2016, he has also been creating wall objects, initially mainly from XPS and, since 2022, from cardboard from old packaging boxes. The material, with its fold lines and damage, challenges him to discover new forms. This ‘poor’ material, treated with surprising color tones and interventions, takes on a new, autonomous character in his hands, modest and informal. Van de Wals’ approach is in line with the heritage of minimalism, the honesty of the use of materials from arte povera, and the silence of concrete art.

Van de Wal’s work does not refer to the world outside the object; it is the world, the world of the artist. In an age of excess, Van de Wal’s work offers a place for peace, attention, and contemplation.

Van de Wal regularly exhibits his work at home and abroad. For many years, he has actively participated in open studio tours in his hometown and is the initiator of Kunstrondje Zaltbommel, a walking tour of studios and galleries in his hometown.