Willem Janssen

Parallels

Willem Janssen (Stein, 1950) draws, paints and makes images from his forest studio in Milsbeek. The work exhibited in the Museum Van Alle Tijden is a collection of painted wooden sculptures including heads, poles, boat shapes and birds.

Willem draws profiles in the wood with a chain saw. He then looks for the right character with an axe. After this, he finishes the roughly edited images in paint as a kind of three-dimensional painting.

The paint brings the head to life. He emphasizes the essence of a headline with a few striking lines. Using recurring motifs such as boats, birds and fish, they tell their own story.

Sometimes the thoughts and feelings literally crawl out of their heads.

By playfully focusing on the natural shapes of the wood and painting them with black paint, a rhythmic interplay of lines is created on the wooden poles, making abstract faces recognizable.

In all disciplines the artist knows how to express himself with apparent ease in a very personal way. Janssen is inspired by nature and various art forms from other cultures, such as the Asmat culture from New Guinea.