Artist Bio
Jeroen van Bart is an Amsterdam-based painter, whose work can be best described as Symbolic
Surrealism expressed through the medium of oil paint. With his work, Jeroen aims for his audience
to find their own meaning in each of his paintings rather than blindly accept his message. He is
absolutely fascinated by creating images out of stories and also by creating stories out of images.
Every element in his work has a deeper meaning: nothing is left to coincidence.
Born in 1983 in the Dutch city of Utrecht, Jeroen was raised in a Christian family.
His religious upbringing is still very influential in his art, with Biblical stories
being a recurring theme of his work.
Drawing is something that has always come natural to him; his school notebooks were filled with more
drawings than words. However, despite this creative ability, he never considered a career in the Arts
while growing up. Instead, at the age of 16 he began taking on many different jobs, finally deciding
to go back to school in his twenties to study Marketing and Communication.
Another of Jeroen’s greatest passions in life is sports and he has always spent most of his evenings
playing korfball, running or kickboxing. However, in 2017 he was forced to quit all his sporting
activities due to serious physical problems. In search of a new activity for his spare time, he came
across painting as a potential new outlet. That is when he purchased his first cheap canvas and some
basic acrylic paints to kickstart what would become the most fulfilling journey of his life.
1st painting by the hand of Jeroen.
For his creative process, Jeroen follows a series of designated steps: Shape, Value and Colour. Firstly, he browses through different images in search of interesting elements. After finding these elements, he then creates a story for his audience. For each of the chosen elements, he sketches a small study to see how they work in different compositions before embarking on a larger piece. During this process, his story is still very much under construction and can change radically. Only after establishing his final story (knowing what works and what doesn’t), he starts painting on a good canvas creating his final piece.
When interpreting his work, Jeroen does not want his viewer to be “poisoned” by the story he used to create the piece. Instead, he wants the viewer to be influenced by their own personal memories and baggage. "Based upon their own experiences in life, people will find completely different meanings for the same object or element." Jeroen’s creative process does not end with the last brush stroke in the canvas but instead continues to morph in the minds of his audience as they interact with the work and create their own stories. This is his most valued achievement and the main driving force behind his art.