Machiel van Soest

Like Carla Klein, Machiel van Soest (1968) studied at the Koninklijke Academie (Royal Academy) in The Hague and the Rijksakademie (National Academy) in Amsterdam.
Van Soest has made an installation for The Bakery in which his paintings are shown along with other objects such as a stick, a lamp and a chest. There is also a dishcloth that he has submerged in green paint, which leaves its traces on the wall. And there are 'skin paintings' that reproduce the human skin, employing the texture of a piece of chamois, for instance, or imitation leather. Partly through the careful treatment of the surface, a surface that is quite rare in painting, a world of abundant details and meanings reveals itself in these often empty, monochrome canvases. Van Soest's paintings frequently rise above the frame of the canvas, both literally and figuratively.