Dutch modern abstract painting

On this site we present our modern abstract painting for sale worldwide. We are a group of contemporary Dutch abstract artists: Hilly van Eerten, Fons Heijnsbroek, Daan Lemaire, Ben Vollers, Paul Werner and the imaginary Benfo. We have known each other well for years - We have all lived and worked in Amsterdam since 1990. We appreciate one anothers work and give each other feedback.

For us, abstract contemporary painting is about giving a face to a process of life, which develops continually; we artists are a part of that, we are part of creation. We do not have strict conceptions or fixed ideas to limit us. We prefer to use our daily experiences and the very moment of creation itself, our internal impulses and our developed convictions in making art. To us modern painting is an ongoing practice of making discoveries in colors and forms on paper or canvas.

The abstract paintings we make evolve from the painting process itself and from our daily experiences. It arises from the visual communication between ourselves as artists and this art we create. That’s why we need our intuition at all times. We recognize this common need in our art, despite our many differences in generation, style, technique, favorite materials and methods. We spend a lot of time ‘hearing’ or ‘listening’ to our intuition. We accept that we do not rule the waves. Without free existing intuition there would be no painting, no art!

Since 1983 we have had many painting exhibitions together. During these years we have keenly observed the changes, shifts and developments each of us made in his or her individual development. In this way the ‘critical other’ is just as important and useful as the mutual appreciation of recently developed paintings. Which is why we want to present our art together on this website, because we are connected in life and in art!

We live in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, a small country by the sea. It is certain that the rich and long history of Dutch painting also exists in our modern painting; this influence is too strong to be able to avoid it individually. And the damp sea climate of our country has its influence; as does our daily life and work in Amsterdam, with its history and its narrow streets in the city center. And there is another, a more recent inspiration concerning Amsterdam; the city has modernized during the last decades with new architecture and with new kinds of city design. Both faces of Amsterdam, the old and the modern, offer us a lot of visual inspiration.

We are strongly aware of the influence of the many abstract artists before our time and we are extremely grateful to them. It is the living tradition in art to accept art that has already come into our lives. But now it is our job to generate modern abstract painting in a new visual language to meet and reflect every presence. Time and human existence need to be expressed over and over again. There lies the direct connection between Art and Life.