Chris van Geest - A Summer Everning (1975) -
Oil on board, original frame, signed right corner.
A cinematic scene of a man absorbed in his newspaper, surrounded by concrete and silence. The single lit room glows in warm contrast against the deep architectural void beyond - where eerily vacant highways recede into darkness, and far off on the horizon, there lingers the faintest suggestion of a distant, illuminated city. The composition feels poised between observation and dream, similar to work by Edward Hopper - not in direct likeness, but in the way the scene holds its breath, suspended in stillness and charged by the tension of light against shadow.
Van Geest paints seemingly realistic scenes, yet introduces subtle, absurd or impossible elements that destabilize their certainty — transforming them into silent meditations on society, memory, or everyday life, often with a restrained touch of irony. His surfaces are impeccably smooth, with a minimal of visible brushstrokes, intensifying the atmosphere of stillness, suspension, and emotional detachment.
Background information:
Chris van Geest (born 1942, Vlaardingen) is a Dutch painter associated with Dutch Realism.
He became known through Galerie Mokum in Amsterdam, where he had multiple solo exhibitions starting in 1965, and participated in numerous important group exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad, including the travelling exhibition “Dutch Realists” at the Archer Gallery in London (1971).
His work is rooted in realism with a subtle surreal or absurd undercurrent, painted with a precise, smooth technique without visible brushstrokes, often depicting quiet, controlled scenes that invite interpretation rather than explanation. His works often depict solitary figures in architectural or urban settings, imbued with a surreal calm that merges realism with dreamlike introspection.
Artist
Chris van Geest (b. 1942)
Origin
Netherlands
Dated
1975
Country of Manufacture
Netherlands
Identifying Marks
Yes (front right corner) and several labels at the back
