Klaas Gubbels

Klaas Gubbels has been faithful to only a few subjects from still life throughout his entire working life: kettle, table, and chair. They are ordinary objects, nothing special in themselves. But in Gubbels' oeuvre, these objects are special because of the way they are depicted. Gubbels deliberately worked for a period on still lifes that were as ordinary as possible, bordering on dull. By repeatedly painting simple forms, the manner of painting becomes very important. Then you get down to painting. What color do you use, what coincidences arise on the canvas? When chance strikes, he hopes to see it and make use of it. While working, he surprises himself, especially when assembling images. Then suddenly something arises that touches him.   

The kettle has been depicted by the artist so often that it has almost become a character or persona. This character is well expressed in the images Klaas Gubbels made of the coffee pot or kettle. The kettle is sometimes prickly, awkward, wobbly, robust, arrogant, or romantic. Besides images of his fixed subject, Gubbels has also made many objects from objets trouvés over the years. For many years, he has been going to flea markets in search of things that move him. These are incorporated into images, often on a table. That table is then just as important to the image as the other components.

The richness of art history has not left Gubbels untouched. In both his paintings and sculptures, 'odes' to well-known artists at home and abroad appear; such as Paul Cézanne, Jan Schoonhoven, Günther Uecker, Jan Roeland, K. Schippers, and Cor Vaandrager. He made odes not only for artists but also for his friends like Cherry Duyns and not least for his wife Heleen, often in the form of heart-shaped coffee pots.

This year, Klaas Gubbels turned 85 and is celebrating his birthday at the Beelden aan Zee museum with an overview of his objects, which he has made over a period of more than half a century. The exhibition features sculptures in glass, cardboard, plaster, bronze, wood, steel, and assembled images of found objects, ranging from those that fit in a hand to monumental sculptures set up in the patio.