A compelling materie painting by Dutch artist Rik van Bentum (1936–1994), executed in 1960 using mixed media on wood. Rendered in gray and black tones, the work is framed in a minimalist aluminium cold frame (screwed into the sides), measuring 43.5 × 63.5 cm. The surface is richly textured and sculptural, showing the artist’s early engagement with materiality and abstraction.
Van Bentum emerged as a key figure in post-war Dutch art, associated with the materie painting movement, wherein paint becomes both image and object. His work explored surfaces using sand, oil, tar, and found objects, often creating “speaking paint skins” rich in poetic and tactile expression. His visual language echoes the likes of Antoni Tàpies, though deeply grounded in his own context and humor.
In 1959, Van Bentum co-founded the artists’ group NADA, alongside Mark Brusse, Ted Felen, and Klaas Gubbels. Originating in Nijmegen and Arnhem, NADA aimed to assert a presence in the Dutch western art scene after successful exhibitions in the east. Their manifesto embraced both figurative and non-figurative works, and their exhibitions were as performative as they were visual—featuring jazz music, literary texts, and avant-garde presentations. Though the group dissolved after a handful of energetic shows (Arnhem, Nijmegen, Dordrecht, Eindhoven, Amsterdam), NADA became a launchpad for lifelong friendships and careers.
In later years, Van Bentum spent time in the U.S. (1964–1967), and upon his return, held significant roles in the Dutch art world, including as art director of Paradiso and professor at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie.
This early painting is a rare and powerful example of Van Bentum’s material explorations—poised between gestural abstraction and sculptural surface. A museum-worthy addition to any collection of 20th-century European avant-garde.
