Ben Dallas / Henri Matisse

 

Henri Matisse

The Red Studio 

1911

181 x 219 cm (71.5”x 86.25”)

oil on canvas

Museum of Modern Art, New York

 

 

A major influence on my work is Henri Matisse. His impact is not so much visual; it's inspired from his painting practice, a personal procedure he articulately explained in his "Notes of a Painter" written in 1908. He states:

 

    "Then a moment comes when all the parts have found

     their definite relationships, and from then on it would 

     be impossible for me to add a stroke to my picture

     without having to repaint it entirely."

 

Here, he explains an intuitive way of painting which entails a personal integration of materials along with his responses to the resultant effects rather than pre-conceiving of composition and design. This is the spontaneous process I employ to create my works, one which integrates painting and physical structure into one aesthetic expression. 

 

Ben Dallas, 2025

Ben Dallas

SCHEMATIC FOR A HUMDRUM UTOPIA 

2024  

38,1 x 26,7 cm (15”x10.5”)  

acrylic media, mdf, wood

Ben Dallas
SLOW RECOVERY FROM SELF-INDUCED NORMALITY 

2025  

26,7 x 35,6 cm (10.5”X14”) 

acrylic media, canvas, mdf

Ben Dallas (US)
ATTEMPTING TO GET OVER THE EXISTENCE OF FOOLS  

2025  

22,9 x 30,5 cm (9”x12”)  

acrylic media, canvas, glue

bendallas.com

Michiel Kluiters / Peter Fischli & David Weiss

 

Peter Fischli (1952) & David Weiss (1946–2012)

Untitled 

1994–2013
From the series Polyurethane Objects

hand-carved and painted polyurethane, 166 parts
dimensions variable

Peter Fischli & David Weiss

Untitled 

1994–2013
From the series Polyurethane Objects

hand-carved and painted polyurethane, 166 parts
dimensions variable

Peter Fischli & David Weiss

Untitled 

1994–2013
From the series Polyurethane Objects

hand-carved and painted polyurethane, 166 parts
dimensions variable

As a 2nd year student at the Rietveld, I came across their work from this series when I was on a gallery tour in NYC on my own. I was really under the assumption that I was walking in somewhere I wasn't supposed to and they were still busy building, but once the penny dropped I fell in love with the work and it definitely influenced me.

 

Michiel Kluiters, 2025

 

 

 

The objects—a seemingly random arrangements of tools, pallets, cleaning supplies, paint cans—are so meticulously crafted and convincingly painted that at first glance, you feel as though you’ve stumbled into an artist’s studio or idle workshop frozen in time. But the moment you start really looking, the spell unravels in the most exhilarating way. You realize these aren’t just everyday objects strewn about; they are painstaking, carved polyurethane replicas of mundane items, careful illusions—stripped of function and brimming with humor, warmth, and existential weight. There’s a tension between their hyperrealist craftsmanship and their absolute uselessness. 

Michiel Kluiters (NL)

Dimensional doorway series

2025

photowork

www.michielkluiters.me