René Daniëls (born 1950 in Eindhoven) occupies a prominent place in the history of contemporary art from the later half of the 20th century, despite the fact that his career was abruptly interrupted in 1987 after he suffered a stroke. Emerging in the late 1970s, when
figurative and expressive
painting once again became popular, Daniëls soon developed an original, personal language.
Although he enjoyed early recognition, Daniëls had no qualms about experimenting with different pictorial styles. Nevertheless, certain motifs recur under constantly changing forms, following an associative, dream-like logic. Not unlike a composer, Daniëls devises
variations on a theme. From 1984 onwards, one motif was to play a dominant role: that of an exhibition room seen in perspective.This form, resembling a bow tie, is reproduced in compositions in which he plays with mirroring effects, overlapping layers, or changes of direction.
