The paintings and drawings by Peter Durieux (Sassenheim, 1951) take you as a viewer from the gray rainy days in Groningen to sultry, calm summer days in nature. In his created world there are no problems or negative thoughts from the outside world. And as a viewer you can almost hear the birdsong and babbling brooks.
“When I went to the art academy, I loved painting and drawing landscapes. No wide views with lots of sky. I prefer to zoom in on corners or places where something is happening in nature. Old overgrown walls and paths in the forest or a ditch from which a thick bunch of reeds grows in the middle of a meadow. These are often signs of culture that are taken over or taken back by nature. Every year I go to the Ardèche in France for about three weeks and every time I find new places that make me amazed by the beauty of nature. I make sketchy to very detailed drawings of the places themselves and note the colors I see in the margins.
It is not so much about a deeper underlying message, but mainly about the composition, the lines and light and dark.
I won't start painting until I get back home to Usquert. Based on the drawings and my memories of the place, I try to bring the atmosphere back to life on the panel as much as possible. Of course it will never be an exact copy, and that is not my intention. In this way I find the tranquility and peace that I find in nature in the safe and clean world that I create on the panel. My work speaks for itself. It is not so much about a deeper underlying message, but mainly about the composition, the lines and light and dark. The aesthetics of the work is what counts.”
Peter Durieux's work can be seen until 7 July 2024 in the Stadsgalerie (Oude Boteringestraat 7), where it's part of the group exhibition From Spring to Summer.
Text: Elles Hesseling
Photo: Christopher Smith