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Michiel Schrijver, 1957 | Surreal architecture painter

"Travel fuels the imagination" is a variant on an old saying which certainly applies to Michiel Schrijver. Painting is a form of travel for him, after all. And the way it amazes him is a great motivation to paint. Amazement at everything he discovers en route in his inner world, becaust that is what appears in his paintings.
The paintings of Michiel Schrijver give us the opportunity to travel through his world.
We are taken into his inner world where people play a minor role in an often overwhelming architecture.
A minor role but of certain importance. Moreover, you always feel the presence of the sea in his paintings.



Schrijver: "Water flows; it is always moving, bringing us to many places. To unknown isles as far as beyond the horizon. That intrigues me, but also staying home within the security of the harbour, giving us comfort, has a certain attraction". Schrijver creates situations where certain elements frequently return. Buildings with pillars, domes and arches are often provided with ribbons and flags or signs with arrows, numbers and figures. They have no symbolic meaning but purely a pictorial function.
The people within these structures have indistinctive lifes. Schrijver: "Of course many questions arise about the world I create, but I don't have to know the answer. Something gets lost when I know what it is all about". In order to get his paintings to a good end he deals with a creative imagination. This is a dual activity; it combines the act of seeing with the action of creating. His paintings show a vantasy world - the world of Michiel Schrijver.

Overwelming architecture dominates his scenes, illuminated by Mediterranean colours. Water is an important element for him, as well as people who almost always play a minor role in his scenes. They seem to have indistinctive lives. In short: he uses the outside world to feed his inner world. All paintings are executed with acrylic on canvas.


























































Michiel Schrijver ha studiato presso la Scuola Byam Shaw of Art e Camberwell School of Art di Londra.
La pittura è per lui una forma di viaggio. E meraviglia è la sua motivazione principale. Un ambiente confortevole caratterizza i dipinti di Michiel Schrijver.
La calda luce del sole delinea i contorni e allunga le ombre. Elefanti, persone, navi e nastri ondeggianti al vento.
Insieme con gli edifici colossali che richiamano un'atmosfera irreale, mondi surreali.
La gente sembra piccola e insignificante rispetto alla architettura classica grottesca, ma sembrano aspettarsi qualcosa di grande.