Modern and contemporary art

Who are these artists?

• Thomas Trum

  Thomas Trum (Rosmalen, 1989) created the huge work Two Orange Lines especially for the garden gallery: two lines in orange paint which he placed in two continuous movements, directly on the wall. Sadly, this artwork could not be preserved. This gave us the perfect excuse to purchase another of Trum's pieces: One Purple Line 06. To find out more about this acquisition, click here.

• Jolanda van Gennip

  She applies the paint to the canvas layer upon layer, often over a period of months: the work of Jolanda van Gennip (Terheijden, 1965) emerges organically. Van Gennip never follows a sketch or a preconceived idea; the thick crust of oil paint is formed spontaneously. The result: a paint explosion, with such weight, depth, and intense colours that it holds the gaze for minutes at a time.

• Eelco Brand

  Having started out as a painter in the mid-1990s, Brand soon swapped the brush for the computer. Eelco Brand (Rotterdam, 1969) makes 3D animations in which he conjures up beautiful, imaginary landscapes. His video trilogy is an homage to sons of Brabant Vincent Van Gogh, Jheronimus Bosch, and Jan Sluijters. The first part of the trilogy earned Brand the inaugural Will en Jan van Hoof Art Prize Noord-Brabant, in December 2018.

• Gijs van Lith

  The creative process, rather than the finished result, is central to the work of Gijs van Lith (Eindhoven, 1984). Both the choice of painting materials and the working method are crucial; the final result may depend partly on, say, the structure of a grid on which Van Lith is painting. Van Lith paints layer upon layer, but sometimes scratches and scrapes 'down to the bone.' Because of this, his canvases are often dotted with craters and holes, build-ups of paint, or bare patches.

• Ali Banisadr

  The work of Iranian-born American artist Ali Banisadr (Tehran, 1976) was first shown at Het Noordbrabants Museum in 2019. His solo exhibition was a resounding success. We are hugely proud to have been able to add Banisadr's painting Red to our permanent collection – with support from the Renschdael Groep. Banisadr depicts, in his own, utterly unique way, the apocalyptic atmosphere and fantastical figures to be found in the works of Bosch and Bruegel. His vivid and dynamic artworks are a mix of order and chaos, of beauty and horror.

• Femke Dekkers

  Is it a photo? A painting? The work of Femke Dekkers (Rijsbergen, 1980) plays tricks on your perception. To see the ingenuity of her photo compositions, you have to get right up close to them. From ceramic and paper, to wood and paint: by using a variety of materials, Dekkers creates a world of endless experimentation. In this artist's space, she explores photography and three-dimensional work, as well as paintings, in a single image.

• Leon Adriaans

  Brabant native Leon Adriaans (Helmond 1944-2004 Sint-Michielsgestel) was an artist. His art was a true soul quest. Or, as he himself put it: 'Art, for me, is the lifeblood itself, the untravelled regions of the soul, the quest for insight.' Adriaans painted on a motley assortment of materials, from cattle feed sacks to oilcloth and rough planks. He made rough bases for his work from cattle feed sacks glued together. This was a curious choice, and a means of setting himself apart from, and rebelling against the prevailing laws of art.

• JCJ Vanderheyden

  Paintings, graphics, texts, installations, and photo and video art: the oeuvre of JCJ Vanderheyden ('s-Hertogenbosch 1928-2012) is very much part of the landscape of post-war art in the Netherlands. For over fifty years, his studio in the old centre of 's-Hertogenbosch was the place where his paintings and photographic works of dividing lines, horizons, and airplane windows came to life. The dominant themes of space and distance formed a continuous quest for the intersection of blue and white. During the creative process, Vanderheyden always asked himself just one question: 'What am I seeing? And how can I depict it so that others see it the same way?' With his distinctly visual intelligence, the artist transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary.

• Annemarie Busschers

  What you see is what you get: a maxim that Annemarie Busschers ('s-Hertogenbosch, 1970) takes quite literally in her portraits and self-portraits. From birthmarks and scars to bags and wrinkles: in meticulous detail, she fleshes out on the canvas everything that makes us human, laying bare the subject and their skin. For Busschers, these traits tell the story of a person's life. Acrylic, pencil, epoxy, wood, paper, felt, and linen: Busschers has a knack for combining her treasure trove of materials to astonishing effect. The result? Powerful, richly textured portraits.

• Mark Manders

  Once we learn to read and can name the things around us, we often lose our childlike sense of wonder and playfulness. Not Mark Manders (Volkel, 1968). The multidisciplinary artist is supremely skilled at creating confusion: that moment when you don't know what you're looking at. This is the very thing that makes his work so intriguing. In his oeuvre, which has no clear beginning or end, Manders explores our relationship with things.