Jus Juchtmans. Undertow

Known for his apparently monochrome paintings, and clearly related with minimal art, that rejected the dominance of visual perception and presented the idea of artworks as objects to be experienced, to be made aware of, and no longer to be seen for their visual impact, Jus Juchtmans works with a translucent painting that he applies to the canvas in different consecutive layers, not necessarily of the same color.

Sometimes there are even thirty different layers, and in this way, colors that we haven´t perceived at first sight appear under the apparently dominant color.

The result is an extremely shiny surface that resists the viewer, and looking at them is often a frustrating process that makes the spectator to feel uneasy. This reflection as well as the reflection of the gallery’s surroundings, is an integral part of the work. He wants the spectator to become conscious of the viewing conditions of his work, particularly the transitory and time specific nature of those conditions.

Born in Morstel in 1952, Jus Juchtmans studied Fine Arts and Design in Antwerp, where he has developed his artistic career from the beginning.

Since then, he has grown up to become a well-known artist, participating in different group shows in museums and institutions, among other ones the Ludwig Museum, with Callum Innes and Nicola Rae, the Kunsthalle of Recklinghaussen, and Budapest, the Kunstmuseum Celle, etc.

In the late years he has reinforced his career with individual shows in London, Munich, Cologne, Graz, Berlin, Paris and New York.

His works can be found in museums like the SMAK of Gante, The Contemporary Art museum of San Diego, the PMMPK of Belgium, the Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum of Hagen… and in collections like the Peter Stuyvesant Collection of Amsterdam, Fondation Carmignac, Porquerolles and F. van Lanschot Bankiers.