Nothing But Good: Guus Koenraads / Paul Panhuysen

Saturday, 26 February 2022

Guus Koenraads / Paul Panhuysen

Paul Panhuysen

TWO FAMILIES OF 64 SQUARES

1991

wood print on rice paper

4 prints size: 96 x 384 cm

Museum De Wieger Deurne, The Netherlands

Paul Panhuysen

LIGGEND IN HET GRAS

1995

screen print on cotton on hardboard

292,50 x 292,50 cm

compositie work: 9 panels of 97,50 x 97,50 cm

photo Pieter Boersma

Paul Panhuysen

QUEL OISEAU SUIS-JE (WHAT BIRD AM I?)

2009

installation with 40 canaries in 2 opposite aviaries, programmed chip recorders (bird sounds) song and contact microphones: a concert space for 2 months for the birds and visitors of the church.

Biennale internationale d’art contemporaine de Melle

Church St.Pierre Melle, France

Paul Panhuysen

2013

installation view Locus Solus Antwerpen, Belgium

There are several artists who I appreciate and respect, both for who they are and for their work. What I've never had, however, is a particular idol, or the urge to idolize or glorify anybody.

It has been seven years since Paul Panhuysen (Maastricht, August 21, 1934 – Eindhoven, January 29, 2015) passed away. Thanks to his wife Hélène Panhuysen-Hulshof, I was able to maintain contact with him until the very end.

I got to know Paul in the early eighties in Het Apollohuis in Eindhoven. As we got to know each other better, our conversations gained in depth. We used to cover a variety of topics: visual art, architecture, urban planning, public space, but also life itself. These conversations have made me a much richer and more conscious person.

We had several things in common. Working in urban planning teams and advisory committees for authorities on different levels, in the field of public space, public greenery and the micro-detailing of spaces where people live and work. What we also had in common was being teachers, and a deep love of nature. Paul was very knowledgeable about birds. Not only did he make them participate in his sound installations and his recordings, but he could actually communicate with birds.

Due to the aforementioned activities, whether or not in paid employment, as an artist I have been able to earn a living until now so that I can work in complete freedom.

What I find special about Paul Panhuysen is the ease with which he moves between and within different disciplines in the visual arts: performance, sound installations, photography, graphic work, painting, drawing and making sculptures. I worked for and with him, setting up many exhibitions and constructing spatial installations. Through this collaborative work I learned a lot from him, such as the notion that there is no distinction between main and side issues - everything matters! For instance, the knots tied in the cords that fastened the strings of his long string installations were all the same.

Paul taught me to trust myself concerning my artistry, my intuition and my qualities as a person.
As an artist I mainly concentrate on painting. In the early eighties I made expressive paintings, built up in grisailles. I sometimes produced several large works in a day. I was convinced I had to do that, otherwise I wouldn't be a real artist. During a residency at the HDK and in Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin (1986-1987), my work became simpler and quieter, both in structure and content.

By taking my time and working from a more relaxed approach, I get a better insight in what I do and eventually a strictly personal touch disappears in my work. My paintings are abstract, composed of horizontal and vertical lines and surfaces, applied in even layers. The thickness of these layers sometimes creates a relief. I don’t use diagonal lines to create perspective.

Since then my development in painting has been in small steps, and my output is small. Not because I don't work enough, but I often paint over parts, or even obliterate an entire work by painting it over. Consequently paintings do not pile up in my studio. I no longer wonder whether my talent will ever be proven. There are more important things that I want to turn my attention to. Researching the contrast between color and no color, between line and plane, between thin and thickness, small and large, wall and floor, and so on, I can walk this path for years to come. In the meantime, nature has become my greatest friend. I spend a lot of time there in my long-distance walks, sometimes musing about missing the artist and my friend Paul Panhuysen.

Guus Koenraads, 2022