As a painter and craftsman, Vincent de Boer seeks for poetry and nuances in the calligraphic line. He explores the limits of language by asking the question: can you tell a complete story in a single letter? A universe that opens up in one line? Driven by a fascination for the traces left after making a movement, Vincent explores his self-imposed technical challenges. While calligraphy is primarily known as a textual tool, Vincent is more interested in the mystical contradictions hidden within it, such as the depth of a flat surface, transcendental time and elusive tactility.

Having a background in calligraphy, you can feel the concentration with which he works and the mastery of material and technique. From this basis, he creates a variety of works, on paper, murals and performances. His animated film The Stroke won the debut prize at the Netherlands Film Festival.

The last few years, de Boer has been bringing his art-making process to the exhibition. Understanding that the ‘outcome’ of a process is not much more than any other aspects of that same process: an ending is a beginning. Thus, Vincent’s work develops like an ecosystem: it needs to be fed so that it gives back. “A system only works if it is agile,” he states critically in the face of the current zeitgeist. This insight permeates the artwork, which in turn permeates his working method: like ripples in water, a small gesture has infinite echoes.

During Graphic Days®, a selection of new scrolls, calligraphic works on paper, sketchbooks, and a worksetup will be on view. In the first weekend of the festival, a live art performance by de Boer will accompany visitors in discovering the artistic ecosystem of this iconic artist and the infinite possibilities hidden behind every stroke.