Kees Slegt - Ets, title. H4 - Sold

Kees Slegt was born in Amsterdam (1946). He received his training at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy from 1972 - 1977. Until 1996 he almost exclusively made etchings, woodcuts and lithographs. He received the Dutch Graphics Prize for this in 1986. Since 2002 he has only made paintings on paper. He lives and works in Amsterdam. Kees Slegt paints and etches, but is mainly known for the latter. He has acquired a unique technique. This is primarily based on the use of aluminum as an etching plate instead of copper or zinc. This allows him to keep colors bright and especially to use white. In addition, he knows how to achieve painterly effects that are unprecedented in traditional etching techniques. He achieves this by painting on the etching plate with a paste with a grainy structure. He achieves an infinite number of color nuances in just five printing passes. He uses various colors next to each other in each printing run. Kees Slegt's etchings seem abstract at first glance. Yet Slegt always has a figurative starting point. Landscapes are often the starting point. More explicitly, it is the 'bridges' in the landscape that interest him. Connections between two worlds. Such as the bridge he seems to build between etching and painting. This can also be seen in his paintings. These, in contrast to the etchings, are often not picturesque. They are painted as if they were printed, with sleek shapes and smooth areas of color. Bridges also enable Slegt to connect contrasts in color and form within a work. Bridges can of course also be interpreted as a nice metaphor for consultation and tolerance.