Dutch settlement

Dutch settlement
Series of watercolor/gouache paintings

The first two paintings were made for the exhibition ‘Dutch settlement’ that was part of an exchange between Quartair artist studio’s and gallery in The Hague, The Netherlands with the Enriched bread artists studios in Ottawa, Canada.

Pepijn took these two works as a starting point to make new works that were shown in his solo exhibition with the same title at La Lanta Fine Art gallery in Bangkok, Thailand in 2014.

The ‘Dutch Settlement’ exhibition showcases a series of gouache on paper inspired by the historic events taking place from the 17th Century when Dutch people emigrated from the Netherlands to Asia, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and all around the world since then.  After World War II, the first large group of Dutch immigrants settled in Canada and the United States. Most of them were farmers and hardworking Christians. They were living their typical Dutch lives which they lived for centuries in the Dutch countryside. They took the typical Dutch habits, morals and standards with them to Canada and the United States. Although they lived aboard, they kept holding on to their traditions very tightly. 

Visually inspired by Blue and White Delftware ceramics, Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk shows cliché depiction of old fashioned Dutch immigrants in a tragically humorous way with a surrealistic touch. His works portray Dutch nostalgia shown through traditional decorative elements.
“I gave them a bit of 1900’s atmosphere because in that period there was a revival of traditional Dutch culture costume especially in advertising that had much influence on how tourists visiting the Netherlands saw Dutch life in Dutch tourist villages like Volendam,” said Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk.
Source: La Lanta Fine Art gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.lalanta.com/emerge/pepijn%20/thumbnails/index.htm