About the oeuvre of Gjalt Walstra
Leeuwarden, 1941 – Hoornsterzwaag, 2020
After his studies in Amsterdam, Gjalt Walstra soon had success as a Frisian artist of abstract landscapes. He was also active in addition to his art work in the studio, amongst other things as a theater maker and designer and as a teacher. He exhibited at home and abroad.
Paint and light
Gjalt Walstra painted his monochrome canvases traditionally, with the brush. He applied thin layers of paint with visible strokes in different colors on top of each other, so that the paint catches the light. White is not white, in black there is never black. Gray is made up of all kinds of colors. The daylight makes the colors come alive. Layer by layer Gjalt built up his works and layer by layer the viewer discovers the diversity in the apparent uniformity: “If you look long enough the painting reveals itself, then you start to see it.”
Even from his darkest canvases, light emerges and magically eclipses. Changeant like silk, depending on what angle and mood you approach it in.
Gjalt Walstra: “In my work the paint seems to breathe, and this impression of breathing is very closely related to light and the painted. Herein I find my identity. The movement of light is an essential element in my way of painting. This special facet is not present in artificial light, which is static. The painting is autonomous. The painting, the architectural space and the viewer are one. They are, as it were, the work of art. Once clarity is established, everything automatically falls into place.”
We are proud to offer some of Gjalt Walstra’s smallest oil paintings at Museo. If you are interested in more, please contact us.
