Tile wall decoration (Tegelwandversiering - 2 parts)

About this artwork.

The tile mosaic at the main entrance of the apartment building extends over a length of six meters and a height of three meters and is composed of playful shapes in the basic colors black, white, blue and yellow. The background is gray.
The hall of the apartment building contains the same type of tile mosaic. They are by Jan van der Zee. The 1964 flat was designed by the architect C.J. Green. The tile walls were completed in 1971.

The tile mosaic is one of the many monumental commissions that Jan van der Zee carried out during his lifetime. In 1950 he received his first commission for monumental work: a mural in the staircase of the Theo Thijsssenschool. Once his name was established in this area, Van der Zee mainly received many assignments from the government as part of the percentage schemes. This regulation prescribes that one or one and a half percent of the entire construction sum of government buildings must be used to embellish the buildings. The stream of monumental commissions the artist received was also due to the fact that after the war he had taught future architects and engineers for a number of years. Van der Zee's vision of the integration of visual art in architecture was widely appreciated and when visual art commissions were available, his former pupils did not seem to have forgotten him.

Jan van der Zee was a versatile artist. In addition to paintings, watercolors, lithographs, drawings, wood and linocuts, he made sculptures and was involved in all kinds of applied art. He developed his preference for abstraction early on, with style artist Bart van der Leck, whom he met in 1917 during his service, playing a key role.
In the heyday of the De Ploeg artists' circle, Jan van der Zee was the artist who worked most abstractly within this company.
In 1965 Jan van der Zee was awarded the Cultural Prize of Groningen.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Jan van der Zee

• District
  Haren en omgeving

• Year of creation
  1971

• Art type
  Art in / on a building

• Material
  Tiles

• Dimensions
  h 3,00 m x b 6,00 m (per deel)