Michel Rutten

I believe that art makes us better people and gives us many ways of reflexion on the world of today, past and future. I am amazed and look every time through the eyes of a child. That makes me an art lover and a big admirer of Pablo Picasso. I enjoy visiting art galleries and take at least 40 different looks at the same work of art.

Stories By Michel Rutten

21st century

The Landscape Paintings of Maki Na Kamura
By Michel RuttenApril 12, 2021
My first encounter with Maki Na Kamura‘s art left me perplexed with what exactly the German-based, Japanese artist was intending to show her viewers in her paintings. Although I was confused by the subject matter of...
20th century

Brothers in Arts: Afro-American Artists Charles White and Kerry J. Marshall
By Michel RuttenFebruary 25, 2021
In 2019 the auction house Sotheby’s sold Kerry James Marshall’s painting Vignette 19 for $16 million. That’s a lot of money for a work by a living artist. But last year the same artist did even better....
Artist

David Bowie, from Popstar to Neo-expressionist Painter
By Michel RuttenJanuary 8, 2021
Most people know David Bowie as a popstar and performer, but do you know his secret talent? He embraced the fine arts as well as music, performing arts and was also very passionate about painting. To...
Artists' Stories

Adriaen Brouwer, Painter of Emotions
By Michel RuttenOctober 23, 2020
The work of the Flemish Baroque painter Adriaen Brouwer excels in innovation and daring. His folk scenes, often showing drunkards and smokers in pubs, in which he emphasized the emotions of the portrayed, were extremely rare...
20th century

Lee Krasner, Much More than a Muse
By Michel RuttenAugust 6, 2020
Lee Krasner (1908–1984) is better known as Jackson Pollock’s muse, but lately art critics have recognised her reputation as an artist in her own right. Since 2018, a retrospective of her work has been on tour....
Art State of Mind

Quarantine Times: These Artists Performed at Their Best Alone
By Michel RuttenApril 25, 2020
Most of us don’t escape the obligation of some kind of quarantine in these corona-driven times. Social distancing and isolation are keywords in press. It gives us an unexpected time for reflection. But what about artists?...
dailyart

Ulay: Pioneer of Performance Art
By Michel RuttenMarch 12, 2020
The German performance artist Ulay became known as half of the symbiotic duo Marina Abramovic – Ulay. While Abramovic became the big star, Ulay always kept experimenting and did not shy away from radical actions. Ulay...
Art State of Mind

How Artworks Can Suffer. The Forbidden City Case and More
By Michel RuttenJanuary 30, 2020
Recently, on Monday, January 20th, two Chinese women drove their Mercedes SUV into the Forbidden City in Beijing. That event created quite a controversy. The least you can say is that it is daring and very...
Contemporary Art

Vincent van Gogh Revisited: Art of Hope Gangloff
By Michel RuttenNovember 20, 2019
The American artist Hope Gangloff (born in 1974) made several landscape paintings this year, some of which are reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh’s work. Her lively use of color and her tangled brushwork are probably the...
20th century

Disney Figures in Art that Make You Think Twice
By Michel RuttenOctober 25, 2019
Who doesn’t like Disney characters? They are cute, sweet, and adorable. They also represent an ideal image and simplify our world view. That’s fine in children’s movies, but some artists use Disney characters to portray their...