Peter Bastiaanssen (Breda, 1957) is a visual artist who dissects reality and reshapes it in a unique, poetic visual language. After his studies at the St. Joost Academy in Breda, which he completed in 1987, he sought out the Mediterranean atmosphere and spent a year in Barcelona. The Catalan influences – the play with colour, form and a certain playfulness – would find their way into his later work.
Since his return to the Netherlands, Bastiaanssen has taken root in Rotterdam, a city that reflects his directness and unconventional approach. His art is both raw and refined, rooted in craftsmanship and concept, with a strong affinity for the boundary between the recognisable and the surreal.
Bastiaanssen creates worlds in which everyday objects and figures are given a new, almost mythical meaning. His work moves between painting, objects and installations, with humour and absurdism often functioning as subtle undercurrents. His visual language contains a narrative power: each work invites a dialogue, a moment of wonder.
With an oeuvre that continues to develop, Peter Bastiaanssen has conquered a unique position in contemporary art. His work is included in various collections and exhibited at home and abroad, and he continues to build a universe in which the viewer is repeatedly challenged to look at the world differently.
