Rien Vörgers

Rien was born in Enschede, The Netherlands, in 1923.
He studied at the local Academy of Art before WWII,
when it existed under another name.
Between 1945-49, he travelled through Southeast Asia
with his own Netherlands Indonesian Welfare Artists
theater and cabaret company. Having returned to The Netherlands, his energy was absorbed in stage-management and in architecturial glass production. It was only in the early
1980s, that he realised full-time painting , when he had
first created his own renovating “mosaic” style, which
goes one step further than Mondriaan’s work half a
century earlier. His meditative way of creating resembles
that of De Kooning, who also dared to deviate from the
current fashion in abstract painting. And though Picabia
was the first modern painter using “transparency”,
he did not get rid of lines and contours like Rien does.
In 1988 Rien had his first big exhibition at the "Lenten" Art Galery near Deventer, where he showed 50 of his gouaches.
In the Dutch Government’s Parliament building
“Het Binnenhof” in The Hague, a seven months solo
exhibition was organised in 2002/3 especially for 24
of Rien’s paintings, where the Vice Prime Minister
and Secretary of the Treasury then in function,
Gerrit Zalm, opened the show officially, on september 3, 2002.
In 2005 Rien was granted a Career Award at the
5th Biennial of International Contemporary Art,
with the Lorenzo Al Magnifico medal of the City
of Florence, Italy, when he participated in it with
a set of 5 acrylic paintings on canvas "The Serasons". In 2009 he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence (Honorable Award) bij the Artaddiction Galery in London Rien's data and 10 images of his paintings are included in the website of the Overijssel Provincial Intermediary organ in Zwolle "KCO".
Rien has had fourteen solo shows and participated
in fifteen international exhibits.
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Email address: riri@hetnet.nl
Website: www.bkoverijssel.nl


Portfolio:

Mosaïc

Own creative style, called mosaïc fashion, put into practice in 1980.
Mainly inspired on social awareness in the last eras of the twentieth century.

Seasons Spring “Seasons Spring”

72x82cm acrylic on canvas 1995
One of a quadruplet - other three follow here
It should be noted that the horizon is on different hight in each season's painting

Seasons Summer “Seasons Summer”

72x82cm acrylic on canvas 1995
One of a quadruplet, other 2 follow hereafter
It should be noted that the horizon is on different hight in each season's painting

Seasons Autumn “Seasons Autumn”

72x82cm acrylic on canvas
One of a quadruplet, other one follows
It should be noted that the horizons of each of the four paintings is situated on a different hight

Seasons Winter “Seasons Winter”

72x82cm acrylic on canvas
fourth one of a quadruplet
It should be noted that the horizon of all four paintings are situated on a different hight

House “House”

70x80cm acrylic on canvas.
'House' is a refuge for women in The Netherlands, who are subjct to domestic violence.
These first five pictures (Seasons + House) were exhibited in Florence(Italy) in 2005 at the International Contamporary Art Biennale, where Rien Vörgers was granted a Career Award in 2005.
This picture was also chosen by the Dutch Vice Prime Minister, Gerrit Zalm, on the occasion of Rien's solo exhibition in the House of Parliament in The Hague, in September 2002 through March 2003, to illustrate his official opening.

Supporters “Supporters”

80x60cm acrylic on canvas
Women in Islamitc countries support their husbands and eductae their masculin children in their revolutionary activities.
The hpto of this painting appears on page 27 of the International Ductionayr of Artists Vol.I, published by World Wide Art Books in 2011.

Air Castles “Air Castles”

acrylic on canvas 80x60cm
There are people with two left hands, who can assemble beads, but do not succeed in making a necklace of them.
The image of this painting appears on the cover of World Wide Art Books' 2011 edition of their International Dictionay of Artists Vol.I.

 Eighth' Day “ Eighth' Day”

acrylic on panel with relief 70x100cm
God created the world in 7 days, men made a mess of it on the 8th day.

Broken “Broken”

acrylic on panel with reliefs 100x70cm
Once broken, one can stick parts together, but they will never fit excatly again.

Heraldery “Heraldery”

Gouache 100x70cm
This abstract picture is an exact enlarged replica of a quadrangular decimeter from Rien's gouache 'Courage' ( which hangs in the house of a New York collectionar).

Litter “Litter”

acrylic on panel with reliefs 50x70cm
Does it matter what sex is going to be thrown at birth, either with animals or man? The wooden blocks on the panel are 6cm square large.

Soccer is War “Soccer is War”

acrylic on panel with reliefs 55x75cm
The figures on the soccer field - illustrated with tanks - are painted real chess-pieces. In The Nethrlands, one of the most famous 'football' coaches once initiated this meanwhile well-known utterance: 'Football is war'

Surveyor with foot-rule “Surveyor with foot-rule”

acrylic on panel with relief 40x60cm
The relief conists of a folding pocket-rule, encircling the countryside within it.
This painting also hangs in the home of a New York collectionar.
This picture was published in the Catalogue of the 5th International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Florence, Italy, 2005, page 731.

 Soup with a knife “ Soup with a knife”

acrylic on panel with reliefs 80x100cm
The reliefs consist of wooden vetgetables, spoons and a knife.
There are people who think they can eat soup with a knife.

Cyclone “Cyclone”

Gouache 100x70cm
This abstract painting is an exact replica, but many times enlarged, of a quadrangular decimeter of Rien's gouache 'Clouds'

Once upon a time - a factory “Once upon a time - a factory”

Stripped off video appliance - acrylic painted - 70x85x20cm
Once there was a factury, employing many workers, who were offered the free service of many parking lots around it, but the manufacturing of goods has now, because of the econmic crisis, come to an end.

Lumber “Lumber”

acrylic on canvas 60x80cm
In order to reach the set purpose, one has to throw a lot of emcumbrance overboard.

Carbuncle - nine eyes “Carbuncle - nine eyes”

acrylic on panel with reliefs 90x115cm
The nine boils consist of metallic glas-stands.
(In Duthc boils are called 'nine-eyes')

Amnesty “Amnesty”

Gouache 80x60cm
The only egg that smiles is the one that is being saved by the woman hand of Amnesty International.

Would-be Safety “Would-be Safety”

Acrylic on canvas 70x90cm
Although government officials state regularly, when a disaster occurs, that the population is not subject to environmental damage, the truth turns out to be the opposite: it is like 'safety pins' - they don't insure safety.
This piicture was reproduced in the 2007 SEETAL Painting Contest book, published by Del Mese-Fischer Verlag in Meisterschwanden, Switzerland, on page 281.