Bart Nijstad (*1979 in Meppel, NL) creates antagonistic worlds where everyday subjects play an integral role. He uses recognizable motifs to create an atmosphere of familiarity. Parallel to this familiar world, dream sequences and alienating compositions take place. In so doing, he aims to confuse the rules of our perceived reality. To evoke a restless confusion in the viewer. Bart finished his master degree in painting in 2020 at the Frank Mohr Institute in
Groningen, The Netherlands. Beside his painting, Bart teaches at the Art Academy Minerva and does illustrations for NRC Handelsblad and De Volkskrant.
Discipline
Painting, drawing, illustration
When I wake up, after making a pot of coffee, I crawl behind my desk and start drawing. The drawings are made with a pigment liner in a A4 sketchbook. Making a sketch with materials that can be erased is highly forbidden. The thought process with
it's hesitations and mistakes should be visible in each line. In the morning I am in a dreamy state. A stream of images is flowing. Fragments of dreams and memories, and imagery from comic books, movies and paintings. Using an automatic drawing
process, I try to organize and make sense of that stream of images. During the drawing sessions, I find fragments of 'the stream' appearing on the paper, somewhat unintentionally. The communal factor between these fragments is a sense of awkwardness or discomfort. I am drawn to imagery that doesn’t make sense or seems like it shouldn’t exist. This results in imagery that’s often humorous, absurd and a bit
grotesque. These drawings form the basis for my paintings, booklets and murals. Sometimes scans of the drawings are edited and printed in booklets. And other times the drawings are enlarged to fill up a (art)space or a canvas.
Year of participation
2023
For the first act of the residency I wish to collect imagery in and around Diepenheim. My process is to wander around. To meet other artist and musicians from around the area.
The second act will be a playful presentation of the drawings made during my wanderings. In this play I will be bringing the drawings to an audience similar to how musicians would. This could be done by enlarging the drawings in the exhibition space or by a series of different performances. In this process I will be collaborating with other artists and musicians from in and around Diepenheim.