About the artist: Paulus Maassen studied painting and drawing at ArtEZ Art academy (former AKI) in Enschede ( Netherlands) and at the postgraduate studies DAI ( Dutch Art Institute) in Enschede . Since the AKI, Maassen has worked on sculptures and charcoaldrawings on aluminium but most of all on oilpaintings on canvas and wood in a simple, suggestive style. Since 7 years he works with acrylic paint. Maassen lives and works in Amsterdam.
When I see clouds pass by, I see everything: rabbits, faces, rocks and entire landscapes. Some clouds just remain clouds. This raises questions about recognition. When does a shape evoke associations and when does it remain just a shape? I do not start from the perception of what is actually observable. My starting point is usually a spontaneous action that is developed into a suggestive painting. I want to evoke a physical painting experience. In addition to being used as an illusory medium, thick acrylic paint is also used as a concrete, more sculptural medium. The visual language that fascinates me is a simplified language of shapes that leaves something to guess for the viewer. The viewer determines what he or she is looking at. I find inspiration in cartoons,children's drawings, doodles (such as on the cover of Frank Zappa's Ship arrives too late to save a drowning witch), emojis, logos, road signs, ethnographics and other simplified imagery.