November 2023 – Work in Progress

Show Me the Way

​In the series ‘Show Me the Way’, Robert van de Graaf explores how to navigate through this disturbing world with some guidance given by the wisdom and philosophies of life by two saints, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Saint Joan of Arc. He carried out research with a loose approach and drew inspiration from visits to their birthplaces in France (resp. Lisieux and Domrémy-la-Pucelle).
Robert hopes to transmit and channel a glimpse of their wisdom and light into his artwork, while also trying to learn on a personal level during the creation process. 

In his creative process he is working from internal reflection and contemplation towards outbursts of external expressions in his artworks. His artworks are also infused and inspired by his observations and documentation of their birthplaces and environments.

As he explains: “It’s not so much about me knowing a lot about the saints, but more about the internal process and the experience that even a small piece of information or a short visit brings to me. I try to transform that into artworks.“

Exploring his personal relation and connection with the spiritual world remains a strong source of inspiration for him, but always in connection with daily life and with both the natural and the built world. His love of nature remains the common thread through all his artworks, he uses the landscape as a vehicle to express himself and to transmit his inspiration.