Kees van Bohemen - Litho, zonder titel. - Sold

Cornelis Bernardus (Kees) van Bohemen (1928-1985) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist from The Hague, where he also attended art school from 1943 to 1948. Initially, Kees painted in a limited palette of mainly black and white, supplemented with blue, brown and rosé. His work was abstract expressionist with influences from Tachisme and a lot of emphasis on action painting. In the course of his career, however, he began to work in an increasingly figurative and colorful manner. His travels to America (1966) and Africa (1972) played a role in this. His figurative work usually focuses on people, 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 in an increasingly figurative way. He also regularly visited events in Andy Warhol's 'Factory'. He would return to America many times afterwards. During his trip to Africa he painted many animals in nature. Following his academy, Kees lived in Paris until 1957 on a scholarship. He had a studio in the skin warehouse on the Rue Santeuil, where Karel Appel, Bram Bogart and Corneille also stayed. In 1958 he joins the Informele Groep together with Armando, Henk Peeters, Jan Schoonhoven and Jan Henderikse, among others. However, this group, which was characterized by a form of abstract expressionism, directness, materiality and commitment, was short-lived. The members founded the Zero Movement in 1961 and took a completely different direction. Kees van Bohemen is not a core member of this new movement, but remains strongly involved in the associated network of artists. Kees was previously involved with De Nieuwe Ploeg, De Nieuwe Haagse School, Pulchri Studio and Liga Nieuwe Beelden. Kees van Bohemen has won a large number of prizes, including: the Talens Prize (1963), the Jacob Maris Prize (1964) and the Wedgwood Prize (1966). His work is included in the collections of, among others: the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Boymans-van Beuningen museum and the Haags Gemeentemuseum.