The work is part of the series ‘Stories of Transition’ (2020 - 2021) This painting is inspired by the relation between the self and the soul. The self, with all its patterns and saboteurs, often causing difficulties and turbulence in life and is clouding the soul, which is pure in essence, peaceful and light. It is the feeling of longing to get closer to the soul, to get to the essence and connect with the spiritual world. The relation between the self and the soul is very personal, but also refers to the collective relation between life on earth and the spiritual world. The attempt to express this relation reaches back to ancient times and has been an important theme throughout history for many artists. - About the series Stories of Transition - The series is inspired by transition periods in life. Moving from darker, difficult periods into the lighter ones, navigating through life to find our own path and the inner spiritual transitions to restore the connection with our souls.These transitions often lead to breaking points in life, crossroads, difficult necessary choices and the need of letting go of the negativity from the past. The paintings are abstracted metaphorical translations about these transitions and processes. These abstracted metaphorical translations are staged on the island Patmos (Greece) where the beauty of the earth seems to touch a glimpse of heaven. Van de Graaf has visited Patmos several times and has used a lot of his documentation and research into this body of work. The inspiration of this body of work is semi autobiographical, but this given is not of any importance to Van de Graaf, who thinks that themes like spiritual processes, depression and letting go of the past are universal themes which concern a lot of people around the world. Van de Graaf is very interested in how the very personal can relate to the collective issues on these themes.

Robert van de Graaf

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Robert van de Graaf (b. 1983, the Netherlands) is a visual artist living and working in The Hague, the Netherlands. He is primarily an oil painter with an interest in exploring the connections between the mystical in this world and the dimensions of the spiritual world and the soul. The works express a complex interplay of visual impressions intertwined with emotional and spiritual reflection and aim to cross the line from observation to introspection. He draws his inspiration from nature, the philosophy of life, spiritual and religious stories, mythology, and mystical places. Van de Graaf received a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Architecture (Technical University Delft) in 2009. At an early age he enjoyed an intense private painting and drawing training (1996 - 2001) by the Dutch artist Erica Meyster (1949 - 2006).  Since 2012 he is working as a full time artist and produced a large body of work, consisting of theme-based series of artworks, which are exhibited in numerous online and physical exhibitions, like his solo exhibition at the ‘Salon des Arts’ in Maastricht, the Netherlands (2023). The exhibition was curated by Ad Himmelreich, curator and former conservator of the Bonnefantenmuseum (Maastricht, NL) and he has written an essay about the work of Robert. His work is represented by gallery Al-Tiba9 Contemporary (Barcelona) on Artsy. Publication highlights include Curatory Magazine, Aesthetica Magazine, art magazine Al-Tiba9, Art Maze Magazine, Artsin Square Magazine and New Art Project Magazine. His art is held in private collections through the Netherlands, the United States and France.