Rik Lina art exhibit: Coral Bouquets, Amsterdam, March 25, 2018

Rik Lina‘s CORAL BOUQUETS paintings will be exhibited in Amsterdam.

To view the paintings, download the PDF: Rik Lina – Coral Bouquets, Amsterdam

Rik says:

The paintings all have the same subject: coral polyps in movement.

On the coral reef a very slow but permanent territorial battle is raging between the different species of coral, wonderful colorlabyrinths as result. Hence the title for several works in the series: “Flower Coral War”, these are flower-bouquets of a coral world at war where the movement of color wins from the form.

This battle between “flower-animals” brings to mind the war-poetry of the Aztecs where there’s talk of “guerras
floridas,” the war of flowers where not the killing was important, but the making of prisoners for sacrificial rituals. The generals who are high-priests as well. Other titles are “Coral palette” or “Coral City” for obvious reasons.

From my first dive in 1975, the colors of the corals have sneaked into my painting. Due to my ramblings in the tropical coral-reef jungles, a totally strange world appeared, but looking very much like the world of an urban city anyway, with its noise and business, traffic and tourism, competition and co-operation, fiesta and quarrel, life and death. For me, life on the reef and the big city have much in common.

The paintings are about the same format, made on wood, hardboard panels, painted in acrylic, pigments sometimes mixed with transparent acrylic medium and sands coming from several coasts, the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean of Portugal, or Caribbean islands. Although the motive takes place in the element of water, I hope my brush blazes the canvas!