Jan Willem Maris

About Jan Willem Maris

The work of Jan Willem Maris is about space, expressed in paintings, photographs, 3D constructions and installations. His two- and three-dimensional work stems from a fascination with the influence of space on the mood and from a love of constructions. In this context, squares are special places in a city, because in a square you can feel protected and free in space at the same time.

The urban square became the subject of extensive research, which he carried out through construction, photography and painting. For instance, Maris investigated the character of a particular square in Barcelona, Spain by first rebuilding it as a spatial installation of bamboo skewers and transparent paper. Then he built a larger installation. He studied the light, shadow and atmosphere and worked out these aspects in large oil paintings on linen. The photo series in Museo is part of the study of this square. The abstraction of construction, color/light, and atmosphere is beautifully revealed in the edited photographs. They are printed with lightfast pigment-based inks on fine art Hahnemühle paper.