‘You should not want to interpret my paintings too much. The simplicity and the monumental character of my compositions are, to me, their most vital quality.’
Arnout van Albada joined the gallery in 1997 and has had numerous group- and soloshows ever since. Van Albada attained his education at the Minerva Academy in Groningen where he positioned himself amongst the still-life painters who execute their vision in a fine-tuned realistic manner along with great technical proficiency.
Van Albada paints simplistic compositions where one or several objects are depicted. The objects vary between a cake or colorful pudding, a shell, a plate filled with raspberries or a couple of fish tied together with a string. The view is mostly frontal, more or less on eye level or from above, from an aerial perspective. What is striking is the effortless way he uses his objects to construct a composition in his paintings. Besides the number of objects, he also limits himself in the use of color. The background is smooth with a neutral color.
The catching colors, like the bright pink or mint colored background or red of the raspberries, bring livelihood to the image. The dimmed light casts a soft shadow that breaks the smooth backdrop. The simple, frontal, composition and the sometimes modest use of colors gives the work a certain monumentality.
Although he feels that everything that moves him could be a subject in his work, he mainly chooses to paint still-lives. In these he can dedicate himself to making a clear and monumental composition in which the gentle strokes of light and subtle color contrasts can form a balanced whole. The inspiration for his subjects comes close from home; what he sees around him that intrigue or affect him. The subjects are often small, delicate or perishable. Food plays a main role in his oeuvre. On a colored subsurface he makes a monochrome underpainting in egg tempera. Afterwards he builds up the image with half transparent layers of oil paint. At first glance Van Albada’s paintings come across very finely painted, but at closer inspection you can see not all details are meticulously rendered but much is left to your imagination. The suggestion, the color and the atmosphere are just as important to the painter as the preciseness of the details.