”Witness” is the title of Sjaak Korsten’s solo exhibition at the ”PontArte” gallery in Maastricht.
3 April – 1 May 2021

The exhibition shows recent works on paper and photography.

The photographs are the materialized witnesses of physical ”places” that the artist/musician has recently visited and that are are important to him. The photography show a snapshot of a presence in the past. The other works arise from a long meditative process through which the traces of a place slowly become visible.

As a visual artist, Sjaak Korsten makes paintings, works on paper, objects, sculptures, photographs and installations. His works are poetic, light, intimate and personal. Everyday objects and situations are isolated and placed in a different context, giving them a deeper poetic value. They depict the desire for beauty and truth. The art movement with Sjaak Korsten feels most connected is the Arte Povera that originated in Italy in the late 1960s. Known in the Netherlands as Fluxus and also under ZERO.

Like the artists in this movement, he incorporates shabby materials into his works of art such as, rags, shoe soles etc. but also as a contrast, for example gold leaf, which distances him from the hierarchical approach to materials. Contradictions fascinate him and so does the tension it causes when you put them together in a work of art. Nature is also an inspiration.