Galerie Bart is pleased to present BOOST, a duo exhibition featuring artist Jochem Rotteveel and stylist Thomas Vermeer. BOOST is an expression of Jochem and Thomas’ shared fascination with colour. They worked together for three months, researching topics such as the deeper meaning of colours. The result of their efforts is a collaborative series of works, created in the tradition of Jochem’s methodology, and which is now being exhibited in the gallery to the general public for the first time.

Jochem Rotteveel describes himself as a painter, whose process uses special materials: foil and tape. For more than ten years, these materials have served as Jochem’s ‘paintbrush’ and ‘paint’ as he continually refines his technique with each new work. For the same period of time, Thomas Vermeer has been working as a stylist for major brands such as Hermès, Vlisco and Longchamp and fashion magazines like ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar. Although Jochem and Thomas are active in two different creative disciplines, their collaboration was a matter of course from day one. Both of them start with the same process: creating colour studies. The only difference is the manner of their approach: Jochem works analytically, Thomas intuitively. Both of them explore how colours can affect each other as well as how they affect the mood of the viewer.

Inspired by Thomas’ colour studies composed mainly of transparent foils, Jochem and Thomas embarked on their collaborative work. Jochem was impressed by Thomas’ skills: ‘Thomas has an extraordinary feeling for the materials and mastery of them. In no time at all, he is able to fold the foils and manipulate them in the same way he is accustomed to working with textiles. Where my hands end, his begin.’

The collaboration provided Thomas and Jochem with a boost of energy, accelerating their creative power. The drive, sense of optimism, and zest for life that flows through them is impossible for viewers to miss. The exhibition is only the start of a long-lasting collaboration, one in which Thomas’ instinctive approach and Jochem’s proficiency with the material will continue to open up new doors for them.