Jan ten Have
“My paintings are the visual possibility of NON-Painting (and yet painting) for a new era. NON-Painting is the evacuated circle of zero. Similarly, NUL - L'UN transforms zero into one and vice versa.” – Jan ten Have
The works of Jan ten Have consist of different materials, like the paintings done on porcelain, canvas or wood. All shapes and outlines of and within the paintings are askew, the colors familiar yet off balance at the same time. This forms only a small part of the vast oeuvre of conceptual art works by Ten Have.
When viewing his works one starts to feel that there is a certain system at work but one cannot define this in words. And although the works are all meticulously planned before being made, it is exactly during the process of making that the medium starts to interact. By chance the color works out differently, the strokes go in ways unplanned and the porcelain follows it’s own rules. This is the paradox of Ten Have’s work: the contradiction between a calculated and systematic approach on the one hand and the role of contingency, change and chance on the other. It is this that lends the work it’s authenticity and trueness.