Compositie met blauwe ruit

Daan van Golden painted this work between 1963 and 1964, while staying in Tokyo. This visit proved a turning point in his artistic development, marking a shift from Abstract Expressionism to a controlled style. In Tokyo, Van Golden found inspiration in the immense variety of printed textiles and papers such as curtains, wallpapers and wrapping paper. He reproduced the motifs using a painstaking method, precisely marking out the patterns on canvas with masking tape, and painting in the remaining spaces. ‘Composition with Blue Check’ is one of a series of works of painted handkerchiefs. Van Golden often plays with art historical traditions. The pattern refers to the geometric paintings by Piet Mondrian. The color blue – frequently used by Van Golden – harks back to the work of Yves Klein. The reproduction of everyday, mass-produced objects also calls to mind Andy Warhol’s paintings of Campbell soup cans.