Michiel Schrijver
Timeless moments There's a cosy atmosphere in the work of Michiel Schrijver (1957). A warm sunlight outlines contours and elongated shadows. Elephants, people, ships and ribbons waving in the wind, together with the colossal buildings evoke an unreal sphere. The people seem little an insignificant compared with the grotesque, classical architecture. At the same time they seem to be expecting something big and important. The work radiates a certain tension. The representations are difficult to place in a certain time or place. Schrijver creates Timeless moments. It almost seems to be about a lost civilisation.
Fantasy Schrijver was educated at the Academy of Arts in London. His paintings are evidence of his big richness of visual, literal and musical experience. An important source for inspiration is also the work of Slauerhoff. Yet Schrijver doesn't want to tell a direct story with his paintings. The work is full of fantasy, but without a deeper meaning; it doesn't contain any symbolism. The viewer has to make up his own story. At the same time Schrijver wants to surprise the viewer and create astonishment.
Construction and perspective Schrijver prefers to work on large scale canvas; it's then that his representations show to full advantage. The perspective, with mostly a high or a low point of view, is enhanced this way and the whole looks more spatial. It's this special perspective together with the architectural constructions that form the signature for the work of Schrijver. Before Schrijver starts with a painting, he first makes several sketches and preparatory studies. The final painting isn't a precise working out of a sketch, often during the painting it changes. This is a process that gradually evolves and cannot be catched into a sketch.
