Paul Beumer b. 1982

The work of Paul Beumer straddles the boundaries between traditional painting, textile art and intercultural research. Although he was originally trained as a painter, he has largely moved away from the traditional conventions of the brush and the stretched canvas. Instead, his idiosyncratic practice focuses on the material, historical and symbolic dimensions of fabrics and fibres.

Beumer’s work is profoundly influenced by his travels and artistic residencies in countries such as China, Japan, Nigeria, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka. Whilst there, he immerses himself in local crafts and textile traditions. This results in a fascinating dialogue between Western art movements and non-Western techniques. A visual language unfolds that is at once tactile, layered and associative. Beumer regards the creation of textiles as a distinct form of painting and creates abstract landscapes using a variety of methods.

His practice marks a shift from classical painting with brush and canvas towards a more interactive, intercultural and process-oriented form of image-making, rooted in the dyeing, weaving and assembling of fabrics. The collaboration with local craftspeople has come to form an essential part of his practice.

Paul Beumer (1982, The Netherlands) holds a BFA from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and is a former resident of the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. Recent solo and duo exhibitions include 'Recovering a Talisman' at CAN Cristina Androulidaki Gallery in Athens, Greece; 'Play becomes joy, joy becomes work, work becomes play' at Artisans' in Mumbai, India; 'Pilgrim discovering another world' at Dürst Britt & Mayhew; 'As long as you know I am waiting, take your time flowers of the spring' at Galeria de Arte Mexicano (GAM) in Mexico City; CONDO Mexico City at Proyecto Paralelo in Mexico City; 'Paul Beumer & Willem Hussem' at Museum Jan Cunen in Oss. He participated in major group exhibitions at the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, Museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen, Museum Kranenburgh in Bergen, Museum De Paviljoens in Almere, and the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, The Netherlands.