Biographical data
On 1 August 1964 Kaat Suringa was born in Amersfoort.
for other information:

official site Kaat Suringa

By BENNO SPIJKER:

"Look at the oil paintings by Kaat Suringa and you immediately find that what you see is what you get: nothing more and nothing less than figurative, colourful and simple motifs on canvas in a great variety of formats. Pure pleasure of the senses derived from sweet life. With as inevitable contrast a few sombre works.

Take the landscapes with trees bathing in light sometimes executed as a diptych. The intense colours, the streaks of light shading into deep purple contrasts reflect reminiscences of Claude Monet.

Taste her still lifes in the form of bird’s eye views of multicoloured tablecloths scattered with a handful of oysters. In the silence of the composition echoes of Giorgio Morandi subtly resound.

Or follow the lush lines and shapes of flowers standing out against a uniform background, leading them to live a life of their own within the frame imprisoning them. In the distance floats the scent of the monumental flower hearts by Georgia O’Keefe.

Project yourself into the lively figure paintings, in which colour and space coincide to accommodate the dramatic climaxes of Spanish flamenco. This motif is carried out in broad, black paint strokes with the turbulent motions of fauvists such as Henri Matisse.

And then there are canvasses with organic-shaped cutaways the graphic nature of which, recalls Toulouse Lautrec. These paintings reveal something of the painter herself.

We are the witnesses of an oeuvre that unfolds itself based on unambiguous and high-spirited representations that do not impose themselves despite the vivid colours. From a neutral, somewhat distant aesthetic to a more personal testimony to the dark side of life. From sunny landscapes to sombre depths; universally recognizable extremes that match perfectly within this overview.

In all modesty her still lifes show a pleasant piece of unpretentious reality. This is reflected in uncomplicated motifs as in the Four Seasons series. There is always a seasonal delicacy pictured on the table. Executed in simple compositions free from any rhetorical, anecdotal or ambiguous legitimacy. Unambiguously depicted objects set in reassuring, controlled brush strokes, dipped in cheerful colours, thinly rimmed with shade.

But then the figure paintings! It has been a long time since Kaat has painted portraits and self portraits. Now she considers that it is again time to give the human being a place in her work. No personalities, no self portraits, no heroes nor saints, no practitioners nor caricatures; she searches for life in itself.

Spanish flamenco inspires her. The unrestrained passion of this music and dance of the same name allows hands and feet to portray the climaxes and depths of existence. Emotions are converted into a universal body language. Musicians and dancers succeed in bringing about a dramatic embodiment of the fight between reason and emotion, between man and woman, between hate and love, between life and death.

Kaat contacted today’s most famous flamenco star, Eva Yerbabuena. This dancer from Grenada has the courage to combine centuries-old traditions with the new developments brought about by modern dance. She is an unreserved admirer of the German choreographer Pina Bausch, who enriched her ballets with expressionist materials such as peat or dozens of chairs, or even located performances in a moving carriage.

The artist was privileged to be granted the opportunity to witness a full week of Flamenco sessions in Eva Yerbabuena’s dance studio during rehearsals for a world premiere in Madrid. There she made rapid pencil sketches of the stylish movements with the intention to elaborate them and turn them into paintings. They are not so much portraits, as a dynamic impression of ecstatic duende.

During her European tour, Eva saw the paintings that were created from the original sketches in Kaat’s studio. The dancer gave her approval for them and pointed out two paintings that she considered to be the most striking ones.

Kaat’s next step is meant to be a more introspective one. In cool pastel tones she sketches twisted bodies standing out against a uniform black background. Lines take precedence over colours. The light-hearted elegance of the still lifes has given way to disharmony. Shadows swell up. Expressionists like Munch, Schiele and Bacon scream along.

What persists is the care taken with each single canvass. Linen that she fixes with tacks is stretched on each frame. No question of staple guns! She likes the odour of the old fashioned hide glue. This respect for tradition is representative of Kaat’s way of treating fine art painting: figurative, skilful and modestly referring to inspiring models.
The public is not confronted with a large ego; literary, historical or religious references are left out and so are any cerebral constructions. The observer is not faced with riddles. Abstraction and chance are not to be found, nor are spontaneous splashes of paint.

The painter has herself artistically under control; how she uses all her senses to very modestly communicate about the artistic trade and about herself; and how she, beyond the usage of expressionist stylistic devices, reveals something of her personal development.
As far as she is concerned, the latter is pursued with the chosen path of grim atmosphere conveyed by her latest paintings".

website of Kaat Suringa: www.dutchartpainter.com