At first glance, van der Leeuw's
portraits look firmly rooted in the Dutch classical tradition, however
it quickly becomes obvious that style is used primarily as response to
the subject at hand, like colors on the palette. The emphasis is on psychology
and lack of formality. Van der Leeuw's portraits are the result of interaction
and interpretation rather than formal representation, he doesn't aim to
simply please.
"For me, the portrait is a theatrical play with eyes,
nose, mouth and the light as principal actors. Comedy or drama, equally interesting.
I feel that in essence every portrait is a self-portrait too, I don't want to please
nor do I aim at merely creating a realistic representation. I like to capture the moment
and preferably paint more than one portrait of a subject, nobody is just one person."
1983-1992
• Graduated from Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam,
dept. of monumental art.
• Exhibited (selection): Fodor Museum
(Amsterdam), De Expeditie (Amsterdam), W139
(Amsterdam), Klaasman & Kottman (Amsterdam),
Zim/Lerner Gallery (NYC), galerie Rob de Vries
(Haarlem), Rijnoeverhuys (Arnhem) and Felison
(Velzen).
• Commissions: City of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Museum
and private sector.
• 1992-2012: Stopped painting and worked as freelance
marketing specialist and hands-on consultant for various companies in
the private sector.
• 2012-present
Started with a one year period resulting in a series of 105 self-portraits
followed by numerous commissioned and other portraits as well as an ongoing
series of paintings and drawings exploring the darker sides of the human
condition.
• 2018 Group: 'Update' Arti. Amsterdam
• 'Face Value' Curated by Lot 5 Collective, London,
UK.
• 2019 Group: 'Five and Under'
Arcadia Contemporary. L.A. • Nomitated, The Netherlands
Portrait Prize, Slot Zeist, NL.
• 2021 Duo presentation ArtSpace, Amsterdam
• 2022 Duo presentation Museum Perron Oost, Amsterdam
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