Patrick Muller (Naarden 1973)

Patrick has been fascinated by the world around him all his life. From architecture, interior and design to the dried up mud puddles and flaming reed beds in the field behind his parental home.

“Nature is the greatest artist. I can't do better than nature." He therefore tries not to match her, but to work with her. With intent, patience and sometimes brute force, he tries to direct the natural processes. Many works are therefore the result of experiments with materials and circumstances. Paint, wood, metal and epoxy, but also abandoned and discarded things sometimes form the basis for a new work and are transformed beyond recognition.

Patrick is a real materials freak and his head is overflowing with ideas. The bigger the better! You can see in his work the predilection for the monumental and grand gestures. Tough works with rough surfaces of wall-filling format change the room. We can see here a reflection of the very smallest and the very largest in nature. His works are sometimes reminiscent of mountain ranges or even celestial bodies, but at the same time also enlargements of the tiniest microscopic life. The experience of what we see is up to us. Everyone is different and is allowed to see what he or she sees in Patrick's work. We often see that his work has no titles that direct the viewer to a specific interpretation.

What stands out in Patrick's work (and which is difficult to see in the photos) are the textures in the surfaces of his paintings and wall sculptures. From thick layers of cracked paint to shiny wavy surfaces that you can touch. Patrick does not try to capture the light, but to create structures for the light.
In addition to the monumental formats, he also makes small works in which we see many circles, ovals and curves, just like in his paintings.

His works are sometimes reminiscent of archaeological excavations to which time has given its patina. Oxidized, cracked, discolored and worn. Patrick wants to speed up time and gives his works a sense of age. He therefore does not paint with a brush and does not use tubes of paint. He does not color within the lines, but throws dozens of liters of paint into buckets and paints with his sander.

His work is about wonder, time, transience and eternity. He takes us to look at the beauty that lies within. As Leonard Cohen sang “There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. ”

At the moment Patrick works and lives in the vacant Newport Hotel in Huizen. You can make an appointment via Artdistrict to visit his studio, mail us for more information about the possibilities. The studio is more than large enough to keep a distance of 1.5 meters.