Introducing Stale Amsterdam

My encounter with STALE AMSTERDAM was, first and foremost, an acquaintance with his artworks exhibited on a booth during the Biarritz Art Shopping Fair…How can anyone possibly pass by and not notice them, not be pulled in by them ? With their stance, their potency and size, their emanating light and those eyes that call upon you, you cannot but be aware of their presence. His portraits beckon you to get closer, to contemplate them. 

But you will most likely want to get even closer (very, very close), as I did, attracted by the mystery around the technique used…How does he obtain such a particular end result ? This will lead you to take a step back, captivated by understanding its unique “how”, the “behind” the magic.

That same day at the fair, I also had the pleasure of meeting STALE and getting to know the artist. At that moment, without a doubt, I wanted to have him join the Art Traffik selection and be able to show you his work, his talent. His talent not only resides in his labor and artworks but also in the technique he developed as to obtain such an end result. A technique he mastered and subdued after 4 years of unrelenting work : “it’s very meticulous and delicate work, yet wild.”

Stale has been drawing for as long as he can remember, and drawing has always been a way for him to create a universe he could escape to; a desire and compelling need. There was never a doubt he would be an artist. So, he created and drew. It was only much later, around 2010, that he began working with acrylic paint and tools, exploring and developing his style. But he was never quite satisfied and was frustrated. He felt in him a rising creative desire, not knowing which media to use that would allow him to liberate that desire nor finding HIS singularity…so he began dwelling within himself and this quest…”In 5 years time, I worked around the clock, sacrificing absolutely everything for the sake of a slow and progressive work; not stopping until I had found MY media, my technique, that which would allow me to find MYSELF and my artistic identity.”

During that time, he created and explored without ever showing anything to anyone. Four years later, in 2015, he finally decided to show 3 artworks that were the outcome of this dwelling from which emerged his technique and style. They all sold out that same day…several months later, his works were exhibited in Amsterdam’s “Museum Square”.

Art critics were inflamed and numerous press articles followed. From then on, things began swinging into full gear. He received commissions from collectors, the Amsterdam Dance Event retained his work for their show, he was asked to create the portrait of a famous soccer player, Gunter Netzer, for the Borrusia Monchengladbach Museum, and to participate in the Hermitage Museum Artfair in 2016. All the while, his artworks were being shipped abroad for international exhibitions in big cities such as New York, Paris, Berlin, Miami and Dubai.

Consecration for his work came, on July 15 th 2019, when the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam selected STALE’s artwork (out of 9,000 submissions!), as a part of its “Long Live Rembrandt” competition; that day would have been Rembrandt’s 350 th birthday ! STALE’s artwork was exhibited for 2 months in the Rijksmuseum Philips Wing.

I am not surprised by the soaring recognition he has received, now that the fruit of his years of searching has been revealed…the style of course, but also the technique with the paint and tools he developed himself : « I drip the paint down delicately but it’s also wild at the same time. No squirt, it isn’t “dripping”. I throw precisely the paint on the canvas with the help of instruments I made. Layer after layer with many liters of paint…It’s a very difficult process that requires a sharp mind. There are so many mistakes to be made.»

This is why his artworks have such a particular rendering…the light, the embossment, intense yet fragile.

Through successive blotches and streaks, and the overlapping of different color shades, his portraits become incandescent. And, with the interplay of light and varnish, they come to life…the eyes, intense or malicious, scintillate and seem to stare and follow us. The portraits, breaking away from the white background, complete this invigoration by play of light and volume.

Dali, Einstein, Marylin, Nicholson…. STALE AMSTERDAM likes to paint these celebrities because they have a story to tell, they are a part of our lives. And, especially because they are testaments of our modern iconography, in the true sense of the word, for what they represent and call forth within our collective psyche. This is what Stale highlights and sublimates in his paintings, calling upon the feelings we bear for celebrities. When he paints people who are unfamiliar to the general public, he will look for that person’s “positive DNA” and will grasp that which makes him or her vibrate, to be infused and reflected in the face, the stare, an expression and posture…to enliven them.

STALE AMSTERDAM loves to unearth every Man’s soul which is why portraits are his favorite subject matter. But STALE also paints still life and abstraction, and is varying his color palette, most likely foretelling the evolution in his work in the years to come, but, of course, always using his “drip” technique. STALE is one of those artists who continuously strives to take things to the next level, to make them more intense, endlessly evolving, all the while keeping what characterizes him most…that which Stale describes as “explosive and expressive”, well beyond his very unique technique.

Stale Amsterdam is still an emerging artist, new to the art market since he only first appeared in 2015. Nonetheless, he has already acquired an international dimension and a well-established artistic maturity. His 4 years of searching, during which he “disappeared”, have served him well…It is without a doubt that his notoriety will continue to flourish and will soon earn him a slot in the Master category .

But for now, his “primary” concern is needing to create since his artworks have been quite successful amongst collectors, selling like hot cakes to say the least. The prices of his original artworks have obviously followed the pace, but you’ll find that his limited and numbered edition prints are still quite reasonably priced.

Art Traffik is delighted to have uncovered this artist and to share his artworks with you ! Beware ! Addiction guaranteed…