Tjalf Sparnaay

Tjalf Sparnaay (born 1954, Haarlem, Netherlands)^[1] is a Dutch artist.

Biography

Born in Haarlem he lived in this town in Delftlaan and Planetenlaan with his parents. In 1959 the family moved to Rotterdam.^[2]

Sparnaay was educated to become a sports teacher and became a selftaught^[3] painter amateur photographer from about 1980.^[1] He was inspired by the Dutch painter Carel Willink. His examples in photorealism became Ralph Goings, Charles Bell and Richard Estes.

Tjalf Sparnaay has previously lived in the province of Drenthe^[4] but currently lives and works in Hilversum, The Netherlands.^[3] He calls himself as well artist as businessman.^[4]

Art

Before becoming an established artist Sparnaay made postcards to earn money.^[4][5][6]

Tjalf Sparnaay with one of his megarealistic paintings

The oil paintings of Sparnaay are based on everyday objects. He subjects are items such as a breakfast, a crushed coca-cola can, a fried egg, a half eaten sandwich, cheeseburgers and desserts, a bag of chips with mayonnaise, a Dutch raw herring with a little flag, and a bunch of tulips still wrapped in cellophane.^[7] His paintings refer to the tradition of Dutch 17th century still-life, but are expanded to megaproportions using photorealistic techniques. His largest painting up to the year 2015 is called FoodScape and measures 120 x 300 cm.^[1]

Sparnaay takes these items out of the context of their day to day surroundings, enlarging them so the viewer sees their tiniest details. His intention is to give the objects a heart.^[8]

“I hope my paintings will allow the viewer to re-experience reality, to re-discover the essence of the thing that has become so ordinary from its DNA to the level of universal structure, in all its beauty. I call it the beauty of the contemporary commonplace.”

The style of Spanraay is called 'Megarealism' and can be considered as belonging to the Hyperrealism.^[9]

Works by Sparnaay are sold from € 13,000 to over € 120,000, depending on size.^[10]

Exhibitions

Sparnaay exhibits his work in the Netherlands, the United States, and in England.^[11] His paintings have sold for over $55,000.^[12] His original works are exhibited and sold by art dealers in three countries: Bernarducci Meisel Gallery in New York, PlusOne Gallery in London, and at Mark Peet Visser Gallery in the Netherlands.

Sparnaay exhibited in various art galleries, such as the mentioned Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, New York (from 2013), OK Harris Works of Art, New York, from 2002 until 2012, Plus One Gallery, London (from 2006 until 2014), Smelik and Stokking Gallery, The Hague (1994).

Bread with Ham and Egg, 2014, 95x150 cm

In 2015, a solo-exhibition with 50 works, painted between 1998 and 2014^[1] took place in Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle.^[7]

Books

• Closer. The megarealism of Tjalf Sparnaay, Exhibition catalogue, 2015, ISBN 978 94 6262 017 9^[13]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tjalf Sparnaay.