Jannes Kleiker
Female nude
Jannes Kleiker (1957) was educated at the Academy of Arts Minerva in Groningen. At this institute well known for its figurative talents, Kleiker was taught by Hans Heeren, Wout Muller and Matthijs Röling, who was his graduate teacher in 1984. Since the early beginnings the female nude has been the main theme of Kleiker's paintings. Poetical intimacy The paintings of Kleiker are mostly tranquil poses, set in a romantic environment. The whole scene evokes in a subtle way a feeling of poetical intimacy. Often there's some talk of a sensual tension. But in his paintings Kleiker perfectly knows how to balance all the feelings, without falling back on vulgar or offensive scenes. The nudes are immortalized in a tranquil way amongst a game of light and darkness. Structure and composition The working method of Kleiker is realistic, based on observation. His oil paintings are made with attention for structure but above all for composition. Kleiker paints mostly on panel upon which he first puts a rough undercoat. This immediately brings some structure in the work, combined with a lose paint stroke it brings about a suggestive working. Kleiker's attention for composition mostly result in deviating formats and frameworks, for example; the model is often placed unusually high in the framework, so there will be room for drapery's. The paintings from Kleiker often form part of a series around a certain theme (recently the series "In the light of Heveskes").
