Description
Jo van Dijk (1931 – 2000) was a painter and graphic artist from Groningen and was self-taught. Later he also became a pupil of painter Job Hansen. Van Dijk’s artistic breakthrough was in the second half of the fifties. Encouraged by the then director of the Groninger Museum W.J. de Gruyter, Van Dijk had his first major solo exhibition in 1959, in the Mangelgang gallery. This poster is the poster of that exhibition. In the same year he became a member of De Ploeg and the more modern artists’ group NU. A great example of the painter was Jaap Nanninga. In his abstract work Van Dijk saw confirmation to continue on the path of non-figuration that he had taken. A stay in Morocco inspired him to work in darker, more earthy colours. From the seventies this changed and bright colours and deep contrasts came into play. Van Dijk worked in a lyrical abstract style until his death. This watercolour/poster was painted by Jo van Dijk on pre-printed posters (with only the text ‘kunstzaal de Mangelgang, Lage der a 29, admission 25 cents and working days 9-6 hours’). The work is signed with ‘Jo’. The quality of the paper and the water of the watercolour paint gives a non-disturbing ripple. It is a cool piece in a beautiful modern black frame, 61×51
