LIVING IN COLOUR
Later this year, Dutch artist Peter Riezebos will travel to The Big Apple to spend a week at The Peninsula New York creating art for the world and The Peninsula family. The artist will install a temporary studio in the heart of the hotel at The Gotham Lounge, where guests will have the opportunity view him at work while he is creating four art pieces for The Peninsula. His time spent in New York will also be part of a documentary currently in the making about his life.
Later this year, Dutch artist Peter Riezebos will travel to The Big Apple to spend a week at The Peninsula New York creating art for the world and The Peninsula family. The artist will install a temporary studio in the heart of the hotel at The Gotham Lounge, where guests will have the opportunity view him at work while he is creating four art pieces for The Peninsula. His time spent in New York will also be part of a documentary currently in the making about his life.
Peter Riezebos is a Dutch artist based between Amsterdam and Shanghai. His art focuses on large paintings in the Neo-Expressionism traditions, and is influenced by his art heroes Basquiat, Picasso, De Kooning and Appel.
Riezebos' works are bold and powerful, emotionally attractive and his artistic ‘schwung' demands immersive attention and interaction of the viewer. Each painting is unique in its colour composition and is constantly a combination of intentional creation – based on visualisation – and free ad hoc expressionism.
Riezebos considers himself to be a “global citizen” and paints on location all over the world, often residing for the majority of the year in hotels across Europe, Asia and the United States. His travelling and subsequent cross-cultural development is communicated throughout his art.
The Peninsula magazine converses with the artist about his life, his influences and his artistic journey…
The Peninsula: Did you grow up wanting to be an artist? When did you realise that this was your calling in life?
Peter Riezebos: Ever since I was a child I have been creative in some form, whether it was drawing, recreating toys that I could not purchase with LEGO, or helping out in the kitchen. As far as I can remember, I always felt the need to proactively partake in life via creation. In primary school, as well as in most of my subsequent schooling, I was always drawing; from detailed and realistic portraits of my classmates to cartoon figures from television which I recreated from memory. Everyone around me - from family members to friends
and teachers - expected me to pursue an artistic career. In primary school I wrote an essay about it. Aged 10, I stated that I would like to become an illustrator and create cartoons.
From age seven onwards, I actually started underperforming in school. In hindsight, I think it was a result of boredom, but back then no-one really understood, or cared, and I was perceived as being lazy and disobedient (resulting in me being removed from class almost only a daily basis). Those years strongly impacted my self-confidence and ambitions, and I fell into a depression during my teenage years. School in general didn't interest me, and drawing in the classroom was one of the only things that helped me to endure the lessons.
Due to me dropping out of multiple schools, it was suggested that I take a motivational test. The results showed that I should perhaps consider becoming a chef (I still love cooking) or an artist. My parents didn't particularly approve of the latter option, assuming it might not allow me to be able to raise a family, due to the financial difficulties many artists are faced with, and so I abandoned my childhood dream.
Fast forward to age 22, after being unsuccessful in many schools and basically failing in life, I was hospitalised for over a year after being diagnosed with severe depression. I was heavily medicated and pretty much cut off from society. However, for the first time in my life, we explored my personality, my intrinsic life, personality characteristics and cognitive potential. We explored my inner world and who I was as a person and what my real desires and talents were. Being identified as gifted, my psychiatrist suggested that I start to keep my brain busy through studying and being creative again. So from then on, in therapy sessions, I was allowed to draw, and at any other time I liked (something that normally was not allowed). So I was constantly drawing and it felt like I could communicate again.
Fast forward again, and after succeeding in multiple studies with highest honours, I told my parents that I would not pursue an academic or a political career (during my academic life I heavily participated in politics as chairman of a political youth organisation, training local, regional and national politicians in philosophy and debating skills), and I would pursue the path of becoming an artist. Both my wife and parents supported me; I had done everything that society deemed successful, and it was time to take my own route.
TP: Did you receive any formal education or training in art?
PR: None whatsoever. In secondary school I did participate in drawing classes, as part of the curriculum, though I was always in conflict with the teacher because I rejected most assignments and started making my own art works using my own techniques based on self exploration. I recently learned that she passed away at a young age, and I would have loved to have been able to show her that I embraced myself as an artist, that being artistic really is existential for me, and that I even could give a lecture to her students about how creativity manifests in the brain, and how life as an artist is.
TP: You were only 8 years old when Jean-Michel Basquiat passed away. How were you first exposed to his art? His influence in your work is quite visibly strong.
PR: I wished I would have known his work when I was that age; it would have been liberating. Eventually seeing his work made me feel like “this is allowed to be art”. It was so vastly different from most art that I was exposed to. Basquiat's work showed me that art is what resides within you, and that there are no boundaries. I wish I could go back to myself aged 8 and explain that it is okay to be who you are and do what you like and believe in.
Basquiat's art influenced me a lot; his boldness in terms of colour and his roughness helped me go beyond what I learned at school (you don't need to colour within lines). I was also influenced by Cy Twombly (who heavily influenced Basquiat), Picasso, Karel Appel and Jackson Pollock. Sometimes I refer to them and explain that my work is a hybrid of their styles. Nowadays, I am slowly making steps towards increasingly becoming myself artistically, claiming my own style and methods.
TP: How did your relationship with The Peninsula Hotels first come about? You mentioned that you have spent more than 200 nights at various Peninsula properties.
PR: In 2014 I officially moved to Shanghai after five years of spending a significant portion of each year in this metropolis. Being a student, and with my art career still in first gear, I left my wife behind in the Netherlands and promised her to bring her as soon as everything was settled. I constantly lived below the poverty line back then, and it took me 14 months longer than expected to get her to Shanghai. When she was on her way, I asked a friend which would be the best hotel to stay in and he answered that nothing compared to The Peninsula Shanghai (his favourite place to go to). He then offered us a night's stay at the hotel. Although I already loved to spend time in hotels, I was extremely impressed by The Peninsula; it felt like heaven on earth.
In 2017, after having had a successful show at the Duolun Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai, Lindy and I went on a twomonth art trip to New York for my next art show ‘Considering the American Dream'. I used part of the revenue from the museum show in Shanghai to facilitate a two-month stay at the Peninsula New York. It was a wonderful time. After that, Lindy went back
to the Netherlands to visit family, and I went on another trip to Asia. My first stop was Shanghai and I stayed at The Peninsula for a month. During that stay, one of the managers from Hong Kong invited me for a drink and we discussed the hotel and my affinity with it. I spoke to her about my dream to have an art show near the historical Bund area of Shanghai, where The Peninsula Shanghai is located. A year later, the hotel hosted my ‘Ni chi bao le ma?' show.
During my intense period of travelling for the Mouton Rothschild project, I frequently stayed at Peninsula hotels all over the world, from Shanghai to Beverly Hills, Bangkok to Paris, and Tokyo to Hong Kong.
TP: Could you tell us more about your exhibition at The Peninsula Shanghai?
PR: The title and theme of the show referenced my experiences with the Chinese people and culture. Ever since the first time I visited China, it felt like a warm bath. From the students and colleagues at the university to others I met, and later on ArtGoGo and many friends, I always felt like I was welcome. They embraced me as a person, and when I was alone in Shanghai, especially during the long time without my wife, they made me feel like family. Hospitality in China is very different from in the Netherlands. People always offer you food. When visiting the home of a friend they never actually ask you if you want to stay over for dinner, they just automatically provide you with a seat at the table (often the best one). A common greeting in China is “Ni chi bao le ma?” or “Are you full”? If not, you will go for breakfast, lunch or dinner together. I used to be afraid that a longer stay in China would be difficult food-wise, but It became one of my favourite cuisines in the world. Wake me up for spicy noodles, dumplings or hot and sour soup any day!
The art show itself focused primarily on Chinese dragons and lions.
TP: Why do you have such a strong interest in China? Do you think your work resonates strongly with Chinese art lovers/collectors?
PR: Asia in general has always fascinated me. This could very well be the result of not fitting in, in The Netherlands. My first trip to Japan in 2007 really excited me, and I am still in love with that amazing country and its culture. But when I first went to China it completely changed my life. It was in 2009 and part of my graduation theses for both Psychology and Communication Science. I spend almost six months in Shanghai and afterwards travelled throughout the country.
The culture, the food, the people, and so much more attracted me to China. Upon my return to the Netherlands I informed my wife and my parents that our future would be in Shanghai.
Over 50 percent of my collectors reside in Asia. Most are based in Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong.
I am currently learning to speak, read and write Chinese with a private teacher, and I also study Chinese poetry and philosophy. I can envision myself living in Shanghai, Hong Kong or Taipei for the rest of my life.
TP: Could you tell us a bit about your books ‘Amicitia’ and ‘Plus Ultra’?
PR: Both books are large - 512 pages each (my birthday is May 12). They are predominantly stuffed with photos documenting my art career. I like to state that the books combined illustrate the past five to six years of my global art trajectory.
‘Amicitia' is Latin for friendship, and this book documents my Mouton Rothschild project. Over the course of 15 months I travelled the world to consume 266 bottles of Mouton Rothschild wine (vintages from 1945 – 2016) with friends, family and people I would spontaneously meet. The whole project was to celebrate friendship through the appreciation of wine. In 2019 I flew over 300.000 miles for the project and documented the journey with 19 different cameras. Based on my experiences, I also created numerous paintings and other art works. Many of the labels from the consumed bottles were included in the paintings. The book was eventually presented at De Librije, a three Michelin star restaurant in Zwolle in the Netherlands.
‘Plus Ultra' is Latin for further beyond, and that book illustrates my global art shows, live painting sessions and more. It provides an insight into the “craziness” of the past several years. The Peninsula hotels frequently appear in the book. Between 2018 and 2019, I spent approximately 200 nights at Peninsula hotels around the world.
TP: You are embarking on an upcoming project with The Peninsula New York. Could you share some more details about this with our readers?
PR: As soon as I am allowed to travel to the United States again, which is still difficult for Dutch travellers, I will fly to New York - another favourite city of mine - to live and work at The Peninsula New York. The hotel will provide me with their Fifth Avenue Suite and will temporarily transform their Gotham Lounge into my personal art studio. I will be working there for a few weeks to create a new series of paintings. During the painting sessions both hotel guests as well as others will be invited to view the process. The paintings will then be exhibited for one year throughout the hotel.
I really can't wait to go back to this magnificent place. Their breakfast is the best in the world!
TP: As your career further develops, what inspires/ influences your work?
PR: Anything that comes from within can be translated towards an artwork. For me it is important that I have a certain level of affiliation with a topic.
TP: Any other major projects on the horizon?
PR: ‘Next Next Level' is my new project. The project is based on video games from the 80s and 90s; I used to be a big gamer in my childhood and teenage years and basically owned every video game console that was released during that time (including European, US and Japanese versions).
Over the course of the past few years I have collected 100 sealed and new video games, all games that I owned and frequently played. These games today now have huge price tags. Recently a sealed Mario game sold for US$2 million, and a Zelda 3 game, one that I recently opened, sold for hundreds of thousands. I didn't acquire them for the purpose of merely collecting or even reselling, but to open and play them, thus replicating the exact experience that I had 30 years ago.
These games from the 80s and 90s are heavily collected, though sealed and new versions are scarce. They are graded like baseball cards and other collectibles. Over the past year it has really exploded, something that I predicted. The video game market is becoming one of the biggest industries in the world (last year it grew to US$180 billion, becoming bigger than film and sports combined). Also, with the rise of the Internet, video games from that era are antiques, like ancient vases.
For ‘Next Next Level' I have created 35 paintings, from small pieces (50cm x 70cm) to large pieces (200cm x 800cm). I even made my own canvases based on the school essay I mentioned before, stating that I wanted to be an artist. We scanned the essay on a super scanner and printed it on linen canvas. After framing it, I painted partly over it - video game figures similar to what I would draw in my school books when in primary school.
TP: What is your ultimate ambition as an artist?
PR: To be able to be myself and show myself through my art. The urge to paint is a daily process. It is existential. If I paint on a daily basis for the coming decades, I will create quite a body of work. It would be amazing to have the works travel the world for people to experience. In the end I want to communicate, and if others don't see and experience my paintings, I am unsuccessful in my form of communication. What the viewers think of my paintings is irrelevant. I mean, when someone really likes it or really dislikes it, it's the same compliment to me, as long as something is happening emotionally. If the majority doesn't feel indifferent when viewing my work, I am happy as an artist. And if they see my work and it creates an emotion, that would be the greatest gift I could ever receive.