Colour, shape, line, gesture, composition and texture are at the centre of the young oeuvre of Gijs van Lith. You can find subtle visual hints in his work that look like a foot, finger, body, or a landscape. This resurfaces through a vigorous process of painting and repainting where rough and careful consideration mingles. His works are carefully conceived stackings of  antically painted surfaces. Raw emotion and simplicity serve to reinforce the central themes of joy and maternal connection. Colours are dynamites softly exploding. “Intuition and mood are my brushes and that’s what gets my engine going. I let the progress and my hand take me and I’ll see a few months later where I’ve ended up“. Van Lith’s process slows down not just because the thick oil-paint needs time to dry. It also enables Van Lith to develop the painting better, “it creates a sort of distance that gives my clarity and the freedom to see what to do next or when it’s finished. “The works playfully distort our expectations and invite us in, to look further, closer and spend some time with them. To go beyond the colour and the powerful marks and gestures. When spending time with them the paintings open-up or open you up. Here you can really discover and  experience the subtlety, joy and depth.