Emilio Kruithof (Monster, 1969)
Emilio
Kruithof graduated from the Sint Joost Academy of Fine Arts in Breda in
1995. Almost immediately he was invited to mount a number of
exhibitions. Emilio's work - he paints portraits of women in his own
particular way - is highly regarded both in his native country and
abroad. He explained in an interview:
"I go for what touches my
heart. I find women beautiful: women are my subject. I used to collect
illustrations of women from LP covers, the Internet and magazines. My
female friends read Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and whenever I can I browse
through their literature. The colours of creams, make-up, lingerie ...
these are the colours of my palette.
The skin of models looks so
magical. The skin must be unblemished, smooth to the touch. Silence of
the Lambs? Ah, my favourite B-film. But I'm a painter, you understand.
For me, the skin is everything. I can't go for long walks along the
beach, I have to paint. And when I do, I can't have women around me.
They are loved ones, my objects. They don't mean any more to me than
the form on which I project my love. Yes, they're objects, like a vase
for Morandi or celebrities for Warhol.
I paint for the same
reason as a women puts on makeup. They do it every day with great care.
I paint every day with the same care. Erotic minimalism. The form, the
appearance, the attitude, the tone, pasty, transparencies and the brush
stroke. The last touch, that's what it's all about. Once I see my model
on the canvass, I have done everything to her. She has the right
posture, the exact framing, the layering and structure. Finally comes
my last, intimate "touch," the stroke with which I give her slip the
right to exist, with which I give her lips the status of a monument."