John Nieland (1966) was born in Baflo, Groningen, the Netherlands en grew up in Friesland. As a young boy his creative talent was already recognized. For a brief period he attended the Rietveld Art Academy in Amsterdam. He felt the academic way of working obstructing his own style, so he decided to go his own way.
His work is inspired by CoBrA, abstract, expressive and surreel. On his colourful and big canvasses he works with thick layers of paint, expressing emotions from the past. The multiple layers make the artwork more complex than you would expect it to be, at first sight. More paintings than one are hidden under the surface. Everyone with its own story, emotion, secret, powerful and renewing. Expression by art is a necessity of life for Nieland.
In 1996 Nieland founded the artist group Lamütta, in Amsterdam. The group consisted of artists, composers, filmers, fashion designers and designers, like Herman Brood, Karel N.L. Grazell and Edwin Donders.
His first exhibition was held in Café de Duvel in Amsterdam in 1996. Since then a lot of exhibitions followed both national as international, in Japan, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
For a long time Nieland worked in the music business for record labels as a producer. Next to music, painting remained his biggest passion.
In 2018 the Japanese government invited him for an art exchange project, together with the Dutch embassy.
Nieland: Art originates in my head. My creativity is a mirror of my experiences and thoughts. Everything I make is connected to the moment. Often you can find my dreams in the work or a certain emotion that I’m experiencing in that moment.
Cobra has always inspired me, I work from the same principle as the artists of this group. Making art as in a fuddle, in my subconsciousness. Paint is my tool. My creations bring a personal message.
The figures and use of colours in my work can wake up a sleeping fantasy. I would like to let people dream again. You can’t make my work fit in a box. I never strove after perfection and my work has never been perfect and will never be. I am happy when my work is screaming and having its own language. This is the moment I can let it go.
