Cycli - Pieter Bijwaard

Exhibition at De Utrecht
Cycli - Pieter Bijwaard from 20 October 2023 - 16 March 2024

U-shaped compositions have been popping up in Pieter Bijwaard's artwork for years. Composed of geometric shapes, Cycli titled. It was perhaps a prelude to the invitation to add something to the facade of the national monument De Utrecht in Leeuwarden, or, The U. 

Kirsten van Santen wrote the book Cycli, which accompanied the exhibition. In it, Pieter Bijwaard talks about this synchronicity: 'Gradually, in my studio, I started working on the edges of the paper, leaving the middle empty. It was a new approach, something I hadn't done before. I kept the top of the paper free of shape. It would otherwise become too hermetic, and besides, I found that U-shape in all its simplicity very strong. In recent years, this shape has emphatically determined the compositions in both colour and black-and-white. I still see many possibilities in it.'

Four new tableaux have been placed in the niches in the facade of De Utrecht. The material Pieter Bijwaard chose for these is a soft green-grey granite called Verde Lapland. The designs are built using the hexagon, the regular hexagon.

Videographers Tom van Huisstede & Jonathan Sipkema made a short documentary to accompany the exhibition. A deluxe designed book about the work, hand-numbered and signed by the artist is available at The U or online, in the ticket shop.

Text Art critic Kirsten van Santen  
Image Tom van Huisstede & Jonathan Sipkema 
Design BW H designers - Dennis de Vries & Esther Jansma 

In the rich artwork of visual artist Pieter Bijwaard (1955), you can see that he breaks new ground every time. However, his signature is always recognisable. Bijwaard studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. His work is represented in museum and private collections, including Teylers Museum in Haarlem and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.