back to the roots - 1989
'Back to the Source' refers to Bart Drost's place of birth: Venlo. But it also refers to the source of most of his work: the drawing. The paintings on bitumen paper he exhibits are so to speak coloured drawings; inklines quickly put on paper, austere and spontaneous. The enormous size of the paintings (210x210 cm) intensifies their clarity en presence. One step further are the objects sawn out of multiply, that seem to 'walk' straight out of the paintings.
As with any exhibition, only a limited budget was available at the museum in Venlo. Drost decided not to put this budget into a catalog, but left a catchy poster and invited the circus school from Rotterdam to come and give a performance during the opening. String dancers, fire eaters and acrobats took over the floor of the museum. The children were cheerfully painted by museum staff. All due to Drost's motto 'you have to make fun of it all'.
