Peter Maasdam

"Allowing Art to happen" Peter Maasdam was born in 1962 in Amsterdam. His passion for art expresses itself in many ways, but it truly takes shape when he becomes a student of the artist Peter Schenk. Maasdam works from a live model, typically on paper. The poses his model strikes are brief, preserving the energy of the work. The pieces created in this way can be used as finished works, but more often than not, these studies are further developed on canvas into larger compositions. Both in his abstract and figurative work, Peter Maasdam employs various collage techniques. Using hand-made Nepalese paper, he creates divisions on the canvas. He then works with brush, hand, palette knife, and sometimes directly from the tube, always with passion, until the final result is achieved. At the core of his process is the direct transfer of energy—Maasdam does not make art, but allows it to emerge. A characteristic feature of Maasdam's work is that it "breathes." As a viewer, you feel as if you could walk through the painting, guided by an invisible storyline created by the artist. This narrative allows space for the imagination of the viewer to fill in the gaps. This is true for both his abstract pieces and his more figurative works. However, the energy of Peter Maasdam is always unmistakably present in his work. Maasdam: ''My best work is a fusion of strength and sensitivity.''