Jan de Beus: painter­collector

Now on view | until 2 march

Wander through the world of twentieth-century expressionism by Jan de Beus.
From November 23, 2024 to March 2, 2025, Museum Flehite presents the exhibition Jan de Beus painter - collector. Appel, Armando, Baselitz and more. Discover the adventurous - pasty - painting of Jan de Beus and a wide selection from his private art collection, which consists of works by artists who inspire him, such as Georg Baselitz, Oskar Kokoschka, Theo Wolvecamp and Karel Appel. This, together with the exhibited works of artistic kindred spirit Armando, provides an insight into the creative world of Jan de Beus.

Who is Jan de Beus

Jan de Beus, born as a farmer's son in Muiderberg in 1958, is more than just a painter. In addition to being a versatile artist, he is also a collector, music lover, exhibition maker and world traveler. Despite his strong ties to his native land, he has dedicated his life to his art and set out to create and collect art. After many wanderings, the artist returned to his parental home in 2005, where he produces his thickly painted canvases in the adjacent studio.

Typical of Jan de Beus's work is the expressive depiction of cultural-historical sources of inspiration, such as literary stories, famous pieces of music, classical myths and Biblical scenes. De Beus's paintings are often characterized by a rich texture and coarse, spontaneous painting gestures.

De Beus' love for poetry and music is expressed in the exhibition in ten poems that the Flemish poet Etienne Delbaere wrote especially for specific paintings. The music that inspired the painter in various works can also be heard. For example, Anton Brückner is a composer he admires.

Appel, Armando, Baselitz, etc.

Jan de Beus's artistic enthusiasm and knowledge are expressed by being able to see his own paintings next to his extensive collection of mostly expressionist art. De Beus prefers to collect work by predecessors and contemporaries whom he admires and with whom he feels stylistically related, such as Adolphe Monticelli, Emil Nolde, Oskar Kokoschka, Eugène Leroy, Leon Kossoff, Frank Auerbach; the Cobra painters Appel, Sierhuis and Wolvecamp; and last but not least: Armando. De Beus aspires to own a work by every admired painter. The paintings of some inspirational artists are so valuable that De Beus acquired an interesting graphic work from them.

De Beus and Armando

A special aspect of the exhibition is the coming together of the artistic worlds of Jan de Beus and Armando. During the turbulent eighties, De Beus spent a lot of time in Berlin, where he met forerunner and kindred spirit Armando. Despite their different styles, the exhibition highlights their shared fascination with nature and human emotions, which is reflected in their shared expressionist and pasty painting style.

Monograph: Jan de Beus – paintings 1978-2024

The book “Jan de Beus, paintings 1978 – 2024” will be published partly on the occasion of the exhibition. It contains an overview of Jan de Beus' oeuvre from 1974 onwards, accompanied by poems by Etienne Delbaere and with texts by Frits Scholten and Onno Maurer. It can be purchased in the museum shop for €29.90

Photos:

Jan de Beus, Atelier Muiderberg, 2024,  Photo: Joke Leicht 

Jan de Beus, Church by the sea, Muiderberg, Spring, 1995/96, oil on linen, private collection