Bert Loerakker is probably Helmond’s best-known contemporary painter. His work is on display in a solo exhibition in the Kunsthal from 12 April to 29 September.

Untitled

Bert Loerakker never gives his works titles, because he believes that would leave less space for interpretation. In his opinion, titles steer the gaze and perception of the viewer too much. Loerakker considers it important that his artwork is freely admired without the weight and constraints of words.

Diptychs

Loerakker’s works are almost always diptychs; they consist of two parts. Often, the two parts are separate, but in some works they are also attached to each other in various ways and integrated into a single canvas. They almost always involve an interplay between a painterly part and an abstract part. These are sometimes counterparts that complement each other, in other works they may be in conflict or even completely merge.

Bert Loerakker, UT, 2023, oil paint and alkyd paint on linen on panel and masonite 90 x 120 cm

Look and study

Bert Loerakker challenges you to observe his art closely. Only then does the real challenge begin, as you’re invited to ask yourself about the relationship between the figurative and the abstract parts. What do they enhance in each other, and where are they at complete odds? Through his investigative methodology, the artist also asks you as a spectator questions, and leaves room for a range of associations.

Bert Loerakker, UT, 2008, 80 x 60 cm, 2 x oil paint and alkyd paint on linen on panel

Oeuvre

The exhibition presents paintings from 1997 to the present. Different periods of his oeuvre are defined by small clusters of works. No matter how different they are, however, they all have one thing in common; they’re ‘real Loerakkers’.