Goudzwaard, Pieter van Goudzwaard
[2007091]

Pieter van Goudzwaard
1929-1983

De kunstenaar werd geboren op 12 juli 1929 te Den Haag. Woonde en werkte in Den Haag, alwaar hij overleed op 28 november 1983. Was enige tijd leerling van de Vrije Academie maar verder autodidact. Goudzwaard schilderde in non-figuratieve stijl met surreëel accent. Was lid van de Pulchri Studio in Den Haag en de B.B.K. te Amsterdam. In Sas van Gent bevindt zich het Museum Hopster van Goudzwaard, waar het werk van de excentrieke Haagse kunstenaar Pieter van Goudzwaard centraal staat.

Pieter van Goudzwaard exposeerde zo veel mogelijk, o.a. in Pulchri Studio (waar hij ook lid was), de Haagse Salon, De Mensa te Delft, ’t Venster te Rotterdam, Bodega De Posthoorn en de Pier te Scheveningen. Pieter van Goudzwaard maakte reizen naar België, Frankrijk, Canada en Amerika. Zijn oeuvre is non-figuratief met een surreëel accent. Postuum was er een tentoonstelling in Pulchri Studio en in Hotel Des Indes in de jaren '80.

The museum holds one of the richest collections by Pieter van Goudzwaard in the world. The artist was an outsider in the Dutch art scene, with outspoken anti-establishment views, actions and manifestos*. His highly original nature is clearly visible; every painting presents a new experiment or invention. The raw qualities of the work are offset by a tremendous attention to detail. With theatrical verve the painter takes the viewer onto an adventure, inviting us to explore the abstract environments that van he has created.

Contemplation of his works reveals that van Goudzwaard endeavoured to search beyond physical appearances as he ploughed through the superficial layers of matter, to investigate what lies beyond it. In this sense, the potential metaphysical content cannot be overlooked.

*van Goudzwaard was immensely skeptical towards politics and had many disputes with art critics. There exists a dossier of articles that documents some of his controversial actions and writing against social compliance and political injustice. One such protest included the public burning of his favourite artwork in a park in The Hague. These acts would today be regarded as Performance Art.