An Eye for Art Kenneth Flijders –‘Just a melon’

In collaboration with art critic Rob Perrée, Readytex Art Gallery has developed an informative initiative: An Eye for Art. Once every two weeks Rob Perrée discusses a work of art from the collection of Readytex Art Gallery. This week he talks about the work ‘Just a melon’, mixed media/wood, 104 cm wide x 50 cm high x 10 cm deep, 2011, from Kenneth Flijders.

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Just a melon’, mixed media/wood, 104 cm wide x 50 cm high x 10 cm deep, 2011 – USD 750 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

I really only know Kenneth Flijders (Paramaribo, 1956) as a painter. Paintings in which nature or people, either surrounded by nature or not, take center stage. Expressionistically painted, predominantly realistic, but seeking, especially with regards to color, the boundaries of reality. Because of this they lean more towards interpretations rather than true representations.

This work seems to be the total opposite of that. You have to look closely to see whether the melon segments are real or not. I was immediately reminded of the Pop Art-works by Andy Warhol – his famous Campbell-soup cans and Brillo-boxes – or van Claes Oldenburg – his no less famous plastic sandwich and ditto hamburger. Those artists wanted to portray everyday, popular ‘objects’ or utensils in order to question the distance between ‘high art’ and ‘low art’. They wanted to show the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Because this work seems to be an exception in the oeuvre of Flijders, it is difficult to determine what motivated him to make such a work. The title, ‘Just a melon’, does indicate that he wanted to ‘play around’ with the ordinariness of things. It is a fact that he often tries out different things. I remember an abstract work that comes across as a cutout of a painting by an American abstract expressionist. In a previous edition of this series I discussed a red-brown work that was intended to be a composition, rather than a portrayal of a scene based on reality. It is not for nothing that those two works were called ‘Untitled’. Perhaps this work is yet another result of his urge to experiment.

It is typical that he chooses a red melon for his experiment. With it he distinguishes himself from city people like Warhol and Oldenburg. And with it, he symbolizes his own ‘tropical’ origins.

Incidentally, it is quite clever to make a piece of wood look edible …

TEXT Rob Perrée, July 2015

TRANSLATION Cassandra Gummels-Relyveld, 2015

Want to see this and other work of Kenneth Flijders ‘up close and personal’? That’s possible at Readytex Art Gallery, Steenbakkerijstraat 30, Paramaribo. www.readytexartgallery.com. For more information about Kenneth Flijders please visit the website http://readytexartgallery.com/kennethflijders.

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More work by Kenneth Flijders available in Readytex Art Gallery:

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Untitled 2’. acrylics on paper, 35x50cm, 2012 – USD 275 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Terug naar Buku’ [BAck to Buku. acrylics on canvas, 145x104cm, 2009 – USD 950 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Koop en verkoop’ [Purchase and Sale]. acrylics on canvas, 80.6×146.4cm, 2009 – USD 1000 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Don’t Cry’. acrylics on wood, 44.5x144cm, 2009 – USD 900 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Rijwiel’ [Bicycle]. mixed media on paper, 35x28cm, 2009 – USD 200 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Mamio I’, acryl on canvas, 143 cm wide x 140 cm high, 2013 – USD 1200 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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From a series of three: Kenneth Flijders, ‘Every day a drop creates us 3’, mixed media on paper, 100 cm wide x 80 cm high, 2013 – USD 350 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Untitled V’, screenprint, 63 cm wide x 46 cm high, 2010 – USD 225 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘I shall call you Adam’, mixed media on hardboard, 55 cm wide x 125 cm high x 2.5 cm deep, 2011 – USD 750 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Untitled 5’, mixed media on paper, 27.5 cm wide x 34.5 cm high, 2012 – USD 200 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

A previous edition of An Eye for Art discussed this work by Kenneth Flijders:

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Untitled 2’, mixed media on paper, 50 cm wide x 42 cm high, 2013 – USD 300 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

A previous edition of An Eye for Art discussed this work by Kenneth Flijders:

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Kenneth Flijders, ‘Untitled I’, mixed media on paper, 57 cm wide x 38 cm high, 2013 – USD 300 / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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Kenneth Flijders ‘brokopondo’ work was chosen as a design for one of the art wraps, a unique product from the Readytex Art Gallery, 180x100cm, 100% cotton / PHOTO Readytex Art Gallery/William Tsang

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This edition of An Eye for Art has been sent as a RAG-mailing on August 13, 2015 and was published in Kunst en Cultuur in de Ware Tijd on August 13, 2015.

Because really looking at art and understanding art are not always obvious and easy to do, we hope that these regular reviews will at least offer you some insight into the process.  You will get to see how a connoisseur looks at art, discusses it, and then links the work to others within the international art world.

Of course you can only truly judge a work of art when you are actually standing in front of it yourself. We therefore hope to see you soon in Readytex Art Gallery  and are eager to hear what you think of this artwork, and which other works of art you find yourself drawn to. Please note that the artworks discussed are still available for purchase at the time that the review is published.

Rob Perrée is art historian and works as freelance writer, art critic and curator, specialized in contemporary (Afro-) American art, African art, Surinamese art and art using new media. His work has appeared in countless catalogues, books, magazines and newspapers. He is editor of Sranan Art Xposed, editor in chief of Africanah.org and a member of the editing team of Pf Photo Magazine. His website: http://robperree.com.

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