Kees Goudzwaard, born in 1958 in Utrecht (the Netherlands), currently resides and works in Antwerp (Belgium).
Goudzwaard's artistic creations initially appear as minimalist color studies composed of paper rectangles and masking tape. However, upon closer inspection, these works reveal themselves as meticulously crafted trompe l’oeil paintings. He begins by constructing a model using paper sheets, transparent acetates, and tape arranged on a colored surface, often spending extended periods refining the composition before creating a painted illusion to scale. Goudzwaard seamlessly merges artistic traditions spanning three centuries, blending the playful precision of 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings with pre- and post-war abstraction movements in Europe and America (Ben Luke, 2009).
Solo exhibitions of Kees Goudzwaard's work have been held at Collectie de Groen in Arnhem (2023), Club Solo in Breda (2020), Villa Croce, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Genova (2017), De Kabinetten van De Vleeshal in Middelburg (2014), Stedelijk Museum in Schiedam (2011), Museum of Modern Art in Arnhem (2010), Culturgest in Lisbon (2006), and S.M.A.K. in Ghent (2005), among others.
His work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions at esteemed institutions such as the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris, M HKA in Antwerp, Fondazione Giuliani in Rome, Palazzo Fortuny in Venice, Roger Raveelmuseum in Machelen-Zulte, Programa Art Center in Mexico City, and Museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen.
Goudzwaard's art is part of the permanent collections of institutions including S.M.A.K. in Ghent (BE), the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (USA), Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf (GER), Mu.ZEE in Ostend (BE), the Rubell Family Collection in Miami (USA), FRAC Des Pays De La Loire, Carquefou (FR), and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Helga de Alvear, Cáceres (ESP), among others
Kees Goudzwaard is represented by Gallery Sofie Van de Velde and NuNu Fine Art.
keesgoudzwaard.org
Selected solo exhibitions
'Kees Goudzwaard', Collectie.De.Groen, Arnhem (NL)
'In Progress', Nunu Fine Art, Taipei (TW)
'Kees Goudzwaard', Club Solo + Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Breda (NL)
'Nursery Garden', Nunu Fine Art, Taipei (TW)
'Ascending / Descending' mural, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Villa Croce, Genoa (IT)
'Hortus Conclusus' mural, Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht (NL)
'Walled Garden', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Collected Details', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Between Red and a Transparent Plane', De Kabinetten Van De Vleeshal, Middelburg (NL) (cat.)
'Setting For White', Cardi Black Box Gallery, Milan (IT)
'Tuning', Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Schiedam (NL) (cat.)
'Fragments and Gaps', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Provisional Space', Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem (NL)
Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE) and Zeno X Storage, Borgerhout (BE)
'Kees Goudzwaard', Culturgest, Lissabon (PT) (cat.)
'Kees Goudzwaard: Schilderijen', S.M.A.K., Ghent (BE) (cat.)
Selected group exhibitions
'40 years Zeno X Gallery: the two-thousands', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'After Daan van Golden', Parts Project Space, The Hague (NL)
'In The Mean While... Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Art', Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA), Santa Barbara (USA)
'Peter Liversidge / Kees Goudzwaard', l x h x b, Eindhoven (NL)
'Show.15: 5,4,3,2,1, Zero...Take Off', Collectie.De.Groen, Arnhem (NL)
'Kees Goudzwaard, Mark Manders, Philip Metten, Luc Tuymans', Zeno X Gallery Antwerp South, Antwerp (BE)
'Blow-Up!', Mu.ZEE, Ostend (BE)
'Pietro Roccasalva / Grace Schwindt / Kees Goudzwaard', Zeno X Gallery South, Antwerpen (BE)
'Vestige and Eternity: Kees Goudzwaard and Peter Zimmerman duo solo', Nunu Fine Art, Taipei (TW)
'Works on paper', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerpen (BE)
'Kees Goudzwaard, Jockum Nordström, Bart Stolle, Mircea Suciu', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerpen (BE)
'Pick.Me', Collectie.De.Groen / We Like Art, Arnhem (NL)
'Salon de Peinture', M HKA Antwerpen (BE)
'Mark Manders / Kees Goudzwaard', Zeno X Window, Antwerp (BE)
'Group Show', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Setup 03', Collectie.De.Groen / Museum Arnhem, Arnhem (NL)
'Magical RISO', mural, Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht (NL)
'4 x 60', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Setup 01, Collectie.De.Groen / Museum Arnhem, Arnhem (NL)
'Artists' Documents: ROMA Publications 1998-2016' National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art MMCA, Seoul (KR)
'Parelgoud: 30 jaar Plaatsmaken', Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem (NL)
'Anton Corbijn, Kees Goudzwaard, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Christof Yvoré' , Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Proportio', Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (IT)
'A4 multiple', S.M.A.K., Ghent (BE)
'Roma Publications 1998-2014', Fondazione Giuliani, Rome (IT)
'Kees Goudzwaard, Kim Jones, Johannes Kars, Jenny Scobel, Jack Whitten', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
'Kees Goudzwaard, Bart Stolle, Jack Whitten', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerpen (BE)
'A General History of Labyrinths', Galerie Crèvecoeur, Paris (FR)
'Opening New Space' Zeno X Gallery, Antwerpen (BE)
'Once More', Lokaal 01, Breda (NL)
'Artists of the gallery', Zeno X Gallery, Antwerpen (BE)
Les Prairies, Biennale D'Art Contemporain', Les Ateliers de Rennes, FRAC Bretagne, Rennes (FR) (cat.)
'From a Painter's Perspective', Arti et Amicitia, Amsterdam (NL) (cat.)
'Provisional Space', Castillo/Corrales, Paris (FR)
'Tomorrow is the question', S.M.A.K., Gent (BE)
'Why Patterns?', Slewe Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)
'Painting Extravaganza', Cardi Black Box Gallery, Milan (IT)
'Published by Roma Publications', Kabinetten van De Vleeshal, Middelburg (NL)
'MyPainting.nu', Lokaal 01, Breda (NL)
'La Maison de Poupée', Arnhems Historisch Museum / Mode Biennale, Arnhem (NL)
'Art is a fight to the finish between black and white', Zeno X Gallery & Zeno X Storage, Antwerp (BE)
'De Cirkel', Roger Raveelmuseum, Machelen-Zulte (BE)
'25 years Zeno X Gallery', Zeno X Gallery & Zeno X Storage, Antwerp (BE)
'Collectiepresentatie', S.M.A.K., Gent (BE)
'Slow Art: Neue Akzente aus den Niederlanden und Flandern', Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf (DE) (cat.)
'Frontal Views', CBK, Nijmegen (NL) (cat.)
'Storage and Display', Programa Art Center, Mexico City (MX) (cat.)
'Roma publications', Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (NL)
'This is how it feels', Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen (NL)
'Taal in beeld', Museum De Wieger, Deurne (NL) (cat.)
'Kees Goudzwaard / Show 22', Collectie de Groen, Arnhem (NL), text by Peter Jordaan
'Acts Of Painting', Grafische Cel, Ghent (BE), interview text by Tom Van Imschoot, Ritsart Gobyn, Kees Goudzwaard
'Poëtische Leegte, Kees Goudzwaard in Club Solo' / Metropolis M, text by Linda Köke
'Kees Goudzwaard', Club Solo, Breda (NL), text by Phillip Van den Bossche, Yasmijn Jarram
'Het schilderij als poëtische ruimte', Mistermotley, text by Alex de Vries
'16 Sheets from Walled Garden', editiion, ROMA Publications, text by Lex ter Braak
'Artists' Documents: ROMA Publications 1998-2016' (cat.), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art MMCA, Seoul / Roma Publications, Amsterdam
'Kees Goudzwaard's Walled Garden at Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp', BlouinArtinfo.com
Proportio' Axel Vervoordt / Mer. Paper Kunsthalle, Ghent (BE) 2015 'Roma Publications at Fondazione Giuliani, Rome' / Roma Publications, Amsterdam (NL) 2014 'Between Red and a Transparent Plane', De Vleeshal / Roma Publications (NL), text by Lorenzo Benedetti
'Les Prairies', Contemporary Art Biennal 2012, Les Ateliers de Rennes (FR), text by Florence Ostende
'Kees Goudzwaard at Cardi Black Box, Milan', Mousse Magazine / april 2012, text by Ilaria Bonacossa
Provisional Space', Roma Publications, Amsterdam (NL), text by Ilaria Bonacossa
Jan Hoet, 'Kunstenaars uit Holland', Vrij Nederland
Ben Luke, 'Kees Goudzwaard', Artworld
'Sequent', Culturgest / ROMA Publications, Lisbon (PT), text by Delfim Sardo, S. Hackenschmidt, Miguel Wandschneider
Kees Goudzwaard: O pintor e seu modelo', Culturgest, Lisbon (PT), text: Miguel Wandschneider
'Pintura Redux', Publico pt. / Fundação de Serralves (PT), text by Delfim Sardo
'Slow Art: Zeitgenoessische Kunst aus den Niederlanden und Flandern', Museum Kunst Palast, edited by Mattijs Visser, Düsseldorf
'Schilderijen', S.M.A.K., Gent (BE), texts by Eva Wittocx, Sebastian Hackensmidt, Phillipe Van Cauteren
'Kunst Nu', S.M.A.K, Gent (BE)
'Frontal Views', Roma Publications, Amsterdam (NL), text by Dieter Roelstraete
'Storage and Display', Roma Publications, Amsterdam (NL), text by Dieter Roelstraete
'Taal in beeld', Museum de Wieger, Deurne (BE), text by Rob Smolders