The Dordrecht Museum is proud to present three exceptional works by Reinier Lucassen. The three donations are a valuable addition to Een Gezellig Hoekje, which the museum already has on long-term loan from the National Cultural Heritage Agency. Thanks to the donors, the four paintings demonstrate Lucassen's versatile practice. The works can be admired on the Willaert Wall until Sept. 1, 2024.
'Lucassen gives you a sunny outlook on life.' With that promise, Reinier Lucassen advertised himself in 1967. He is considered a Dutch Pop Art artist: idiosyncratic and ironic. A highlight of his career is his broadcast to the Venice Biennale In 1986.
Lucassen (Amsterdam, 1939) grows up during World War II and Reconstruction years. In the fledgling consumer society, he develops as an artist. He paints everyday things. A floor lamp. An easy chair. His most famous canvas is called A Cozy Corner. It is from 1968, the time of prosperity, but also of the Cold War. The domesticity of A Cozy Corner collides with a pattern of bright red blocks.
Lucassen combines two worlds: figuration with abstraction; the optimistic decor from advertisements alongside symbolic (letter) signs. He is counted among the New Figuration. He himself speaks of New Synthesis. In the painting To what conclusion Piet Mondrian came (1967), he plays a board game with art by famous colleagues. Art is his sanctuary in an ever-changing reality. His tortoise, possibly a self-portrait, demonstrates the path of life: uphill, downhill.
