Some intriguing work from Belgian artist Klaas Van Der linden.The night is Klaas’s specialty. In every painting the dark light of the night shines. This is partially thanks to his nightly life as a graffiti painter, but also because of an eye defect. Only against a black background does he have a sharp eye. And as it befits a true artist, he turned that disadvantage into an advantage.
Klaas is looking for the spirit of the night. Literally and figuratively. The night is an adventure, where he encounters less common scenes of himself and of others. Klaas does just fall asleep sometimes resting his head on his dog, following his father’s example, who, in an unguarded moment, sinking back, has dozed off. But when the street calls him at night, in his imagination he becomes a 19th century English character, searching for the romantic reality of the nightly life on the street. There are enough companions around at night: railroad workers, street workers and young night-revellers.

Jeroen Laureyns

www.klaasvanderlinden.com