Blog Post

A Whole New Type of Wall Art...

Kate Downes • 12 September 2020

See the world through the eyes of collage artist Michiel Folkers

Michiel Folkers is known around the world for his innovative collage work. Not only is each piece its own unique work of art, but his choice of materials is also a fascinating exploration of the links between public art, commerical art and found art.

It might be Michiel's roots in urban art and graffiti that led to his ability to see every wall in his home city of Amsterdam as a potential work of art. Michiel was an active graffiti artist throughout the 90s, and this art influence is still traceable into his current works, with sharply contrasted figures suggestive of stencilling techniques.

The walls of the city, however, were an artwork all by themselves as far as Michiel was concerned. He became intrigued by the appearance of the walls he saw around the city, where brightly coloured posters advertised festivals of every variety. As new posters were layered and old ones became worn, the walls transformed into something that Michiel thought could easily be found in a museum.

Michiel began creating his own interpretations of these walls — by peeling back the layers of posters and turning them into his own unique artworks. The colours of the posters become his palette, and the marks and wearing on the paper give the artwork a "living character" according to Michiel.

Michiel has also spoken of the interesting challenges that come with working in this way: “When you are an acrylic or oil painter, you go to an art supply store, you can think ahead what colours you will be using and combining, and you’ll buy them. The exciting part of my technique: I am forced to use colour combinations the streets will give me.”

At Watson, we have been displaying pieces from Michiel's hugely popular icons series as shown above; the unique collages are finished off with the image of a cultural icon, giving a visual hook to the composition while also lending a pop-art style flair.

These have been highly sought after since they first arrived — please get in touch if you're interested in reserving or viewing one of the artworks above!

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