CRISTAL

Poen de Wijs

Poen de Wijs (Dutch artist) 1948 - 2014
Het Kristal (The Crystal), 2009
acrylics on canvas
65 x 80 cm.
signed Poen de Wijs
private collection

A fallen blossom
returning to the bough, I thought -
But no, a butterfly.

(Arakida Moritake (1472-1549)

The Japanese poet of this haiku recognizes the passing of time and freezes it in only three lines for eternity.
A year ago, Poen de Wijs travelled to Japan during the time of the cherry blossom, the Sakura, that slid like a pink cloud from south to north across the country. At its height, he celebrated spring under a roof of flowering cherry blossom and amidst many Japanese people. He celebrated a new beginning without losing the transience of the moment. Poen de Wijs has travelled throughout his career and he assimilated the unforgettable impressions into his paintings. Especially in this time, in which one moves widely and easily around the globe, traveling has become again a major theme in his work. Japan, Egypt, Venice, Indonesia, Moscow, France, impressions, landscapes, wildlife, special meetings, different races and cultures… Each adventure is a series of new moments, of transient impressions that integrate into the fabric of this extraordinary storyteller.
Like a Japanese haiku poet Poen de Wijs has an eye for the beauty of the moment and he gives the same careful observation, loving care and wonder a place in a world where dream and reality meet.

Text: Liesbeth Gerretsen - Gallery De Twee Pauwen - exhibition "The Journey"