Max Keuris: Master Storyteller

Max Keuris

Max Keuris (1923–1979) had everything it takes to go far as a painter. With compositions inspired by Flemish Expressionism, he demonstrated his ability from an early age. But the Amersfoort native — co-founder along with Toon Tieland and Johan Traarbach of the post-war artists' association De Ploegh — was also an individualist who took little from others and spread his talent in many directions. He designed record sleeves, book covers and later also signboards for the hospitality industry. This bread-and-butter work was a pure necessity for him as a father of four. A significant portion of his professional life Keuris spent in advertising — not without success, in fact. The animated films he directed in the 1960s for Joop Geesink's studio are imaginative and witty.

Inspired by Willink, Chagall and Dalí

Max Keuris: Master Storyteller shows all facets of his artistry. Keuris only threw himself fully into painting after going bankrupt. Just as in his other creative outputs, in his oil paintings he reveals himself as a born storyteller. Several of them, in terms of theme and use of colour, are indebted to the magical realism of Carel Willink. He was also inspired by the surrealism of Salvador Dalí and the dreamlike imagery of Marc Chagall. Due to a turbulent lifestyle that led to his early death, the question of which direction Keuris would have developed remains unanswered.

Friso Keuris

Forty years after Max Keuris's death, his son Friso (1963) has made a series of photographs of objects that recall his father. A toy duck, an alto flute, a drawing quill and a whisky glass — portrait photographer Friso Keuris examines these objects one by one. In dim daylight he made nine 'still lifes', which are shown in large format in the museum. "Much has been thrown away, because at the time its value was not recognised," says the photographer. "But after years, you can attach value to the seemingly trivial objects that were preserved, feel the need to look at them more closely. To retrieve the memory. The objects belong to where you come from."

Author: Annebeth Felet