Kees van Bohemen - Framed silkscreen: untitled - 1981

Cornelis Bernardus (Kees) van Bohemen (1928-1985) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist from The Hague, where he also attended the art academy from 1943 to 1948. Initially Kees painted in a limited palette of mainly black and white supplemented with blue, brown and pink. His work was abstract expressionist with influences of tachism and a lot of emphasis on action painting. In the course of his career, however, he started to work more figuratively and colorfully. His trips to America (1966) and Africa (1972) played a role in this. In his figurative work, people are usually central, often with a lot of dynamics: sports people and fast cars. In 1966 Kees lived in New York for a year where he was captivated by the city, street and sports scenes that he painted increasingly figuratively. He also regularly visited manifestations in Andy Warhol's 'Factory'. He would return to America often afterwards. During his trip to Africa he painted many animals in nature. Following his academy years, Kees lived in Paris until 1957 on the occasion of a grant. He had a studio there in the hide warehouse on the Rue Santeuil where Karel Appel, Bram Bogart and Corneille also stayed. In 1958 he joined the Informele Groep together with Armando, Henk Peeters, Jan Schoonhoven and Jan Henderikse. This group, which was characterised by a form of abstract expressionism, directness, materiality and engagement, was short-lived. In 1961, the members founded the Nul Movement and took a completely different direction. Kees van Bohemen was not a core member of this new movement, but remained closely involved in the associated network of artists. Kees had previously been involved in De Nieuwe Ploeg, De Nieuwe Haagse School, Pulchri Studio and Liga Nieuwe Beelden. Kees van Bohemen won a large number of prizes, including: the Talensprijs (1963), the Jacob Marisprijs (1964) and the Wedgwoodprijs (1966). His work is included in the collections of, among others: the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Boymans-van Beuningen Museum and the Haags Gemeentemuseum.