Klaas Gubbels is born in 1934 in Rotterdam. He starts his art education at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts. In 1952, he continues his education in Arnhem, the place where he has lived ever since. During the 1970s, Gubbels teaches at the Willem De Kooning Academy in Rotterdam.
Gubbels’ visual language is extremely limited. In his work, coffee pots, chairs, tables and bottles often figure in angular, seemingly cut-out forms. His use of colour is also recognizable; he often uses deep red, blue and black shades for his subjects, but sometimes he also draws a haze over the image, creating pastel shades.
Gubbels mainly paints with oil on canvas and watercolour on paper, but he also uses numerous graphic techniques, including woodcut and lithograph, he photographs and makes sculptures. He works alternately in his studio in the woods near Arnhem and in the French Ardèche.
Gubbels’ work stands more or less on its own, independent of all styles or movements in visual arts. It has its own unique handwriting, which he has developed over the years. The simplicity of his work can be moving and fascinating.
Gubbels’ work is present in leading museums and corporate collections.
