the quote

For him, emotion, imagination, and the freedom to create are of utmost importance.

The idea

His work is an expression of freedom in contrast to the task-oriented screen-and-click society. The artist creates a sense of unboundedness. The viewer is challenged to lose themselves in the painting. You are encouraged to become more aware of your thought processes.

The zeitgeist

Just as the Industrial Revolution influenced the work and identity of people in the late 18th century, the AI era has consequences for the nature of work and how people see themselves today. Consider the fear of alienation and the loss of 'analog' human contact. Joost Schreuders explores deeper emotional experiences and gives them form, both in his video sketches and in his oil paintings.

The work

He creates a synthesis of different artistic movements and disciplines. The artist is inspired by the organic and non-representational forms of the Romantic movement in Western painting. According to him, artists of Romanticism already displayed abstraction in their works early on, but this evolution in Romanticism was interrupted by the rise of Impressionism.

The themes often associated with Romantic painting (such as nature, emotion, and imagination) are abstracted by the artist. This gives the work a deeper, personal meaning, open to the visual enjoyment of the viewer. The artist has developed an artistic language in which he combines the personal expression and emotion of Abstract Expressionism with that of Romanticism.

By translating his video sketches into oil painting, he makes use of two extremes in art production: the digital, rapidly moving world of video and the slow, physical act of painting with oil. This transition from medium to medium allows the artist to explore and realize different aspects of his artistic vision. The combination of technology and craftsmanship gives a 21st-century modernity to the work.

Overall, the artist seems to have an intuitive and innovative approach to his work, combining art history, modern technology, traditional painting, and personal expression. It is recommended to personally experience how his digital and craft-based work resonates in a public space.