[Laan’s] images seem to come from another mystical world,
in which trains noiselessly glide through the landscape and houses are deserted. There is a tangible tension. The birds are silent as if in anticipation of a summer’s thunderstorm.
A man lies in bed; his eyes are wide open. Dead? Or is he staring at us from out of his own world?
from “Laan Irodjojo: Caught up in his Own World”
by Yvonne Beelen

New York. Kerrigan Campbell is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings by Dutch artist Laan Irodjojo, which will open with a preview on Thursday, September 4 from 6-8pm.

Laan Irodjojo’s favorite subjects are vehicles of transport in motion, such as airplanes, trains and ships; yet in his paintings they are eerily at rest and vacant in a silent environment. This atmosphere is heightened by his
minimalistic painting style in which areas of flat color
are outlined in black. Using a unique working method
he paints the shapes first, then returns to provide detail with the painted black lines. By favoring a palette of cool greys, blues and greens the paintings give the impression of a still world spied from an objective distance.

Born in Java in 1965, Laan moved to Rotterdam with his family and for several years worked in a silk-painting studio, where he developed his characteristic illustrative style. In 1995 he joined Atelier Herenplaats, a studio for exceptional artists with disabilities in Rotterdam. Diagnosed with autism, Laan has an extraordinary visual memory that is sometimes found in the gifted autistic. Street scenes: boats, cranes, airplanes and mills on dykes are depicted from memory. In a recent work he found that the paper available to him was too small for the train he wanted to paint, so he painted it in six independent paintings, on separate sheets, without a ruler and from his head. When finished they fit together perfectly, like a puzzle, to form one continuous train.

Laan Irodjojo’s paintings on paper and canvas will be on exhibition through October 5. For more information
call 212 505 7196 or e-mail us: info@kerrigancampbell.com