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DavidKuijers
Biography
David Kuijers was born in Vanderbijlpark in 1962 of Dutch
immigrant parents. His father was a part –time artist who painted
under the pseudonym, B Arteld. Surrounded from a very young age by
art materials and books, especially a pile of Walter T .Foster’s
“How to …..”Manuals, art was always going to be a part of his
life.
In 1978, he followed his brother (presently a graphic designer in
Holland) into the Art, Music and ballet school in Pretoria .He
completed his schooling there in 1980 with a distinction in graphics
and the “Best Painter” award for that year.
In 1981 he went to Cape town for the first time on board a troop
train bound for Youngsfield Military Base. Disgusted with the
mentality and the attempt to subvert common sense, he absconded
after 3 months- with his first pay check .After 3 years he returned
and completed his military service in an administrative position –
ironically receiving an award for outstanding service.
He spent 1986 as a mediocre and frustrated song writer. He
entered the Cape Technicon the following year hoping to do a diploma
in Fine Art, but had to settle for graphic design as the former was
discontinued.
David Majored in illustration and received a Merit Award for 1989
Graduating. 1990 he married Dina, a fellow student. After his
studies he freelanced as a designer / illustrator and printed
greeting cards for gift shops and craft markets. During these years
he had some success as an artist but not enough to ensure a living.
Some large commissions helped to ease the transition to a full
time artist in 1999. Notable commissions include: The President’s
Hotel, The Radisson Hotel, Medi –Clinics, Tiger Brand Foods, Dole
and Princess Foods.
In 2002 a book on Cape Town, entitled “David Kuijers paints the
town” was published. In 2004 he worked with De Montford Fine Art,
Britain, where he was included in their “Ultimate Collection”
Series. In 2004 /2005 he opened a gallery in partnership with Hout
Bay Gallery and Hout Bay Framers in Hout Bay, Cape Town.
Cape Town is unusual. It seems staged. Oceans and mountains
conspire with the weather to create a dramatic and sometimes moody
setting. It is a city with a view, an outdoors, a leisurely place,
an evocative place. In short, a good place to paint. Through
painting I can engage with this physical environment in ever new and
fresh ways. For me, the city is an external departure point for a
journey of unknown and tantalizing possibilities. At the end of
every painting I am a little different. When I paint I leave for a
place of exaggerated awareness, of relaxed concentration, a
friendlier place.
The visible results are not what Cape Town looks like, but an
inkling of what it feels like. The images are for me, and hopefully
for others, something positive and life affirming.
Matisse, who lived through both wars, said that he aims for an
art that is like a comforting influence, a mental balm, something
like a good armchair in which one rests from physical fatigue.
David currently lives in Greyton, a small town, an hour and a
half from Cape Town, with his wife and 3 children. He has a
permanent exhibition space in association with Scarlet Gallery
David Kuijers, graphic designer, illustrator, became a full time
artist in 1999. He has featured in prominent exhibitions in South
Africa and in De Montford Fine Art's "Ultimate Collection"
in Britain. His commissions are in The President and Radisson Hotels
and in many corporate collections. A book on Cape Town entitled
"David Kuijers paints the Town" was published in 2002.
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