Sander Martijn Jonker (1977, Netherlands) graduated from the St. Joost School of Art & Design in Den Bosch, The Netherlands. He makes two- and three-dimensional images and reliefs that play with the tension between abstraction and representation, surface and space. Light, shadow and their elusive ever-changing properties play an important role. Although the resulting works are abstract, he uses everyday reality as a starting and/or reference point.
His work is created through forms of manipulation, distortion, repetition and simplification. Some works arise from the repetition of a simple movement or form, others are made by exploring how far he can go with the deformation and manipulation of the material, after which he captures and preserves the shape.
He experiences daily life as uncontrollable and at times confusing. In order to cope with that, he is always looking for patterns and has gradually developed various rituals and ways of control, hoping they can offer him certainty and reassurance. His work and person are inextricably connected. He makes the things he makes because he doesn’t have a choice. He is trying to get a grip on reality by bending things to his will. In daily life the ways of control and rituals fail regularly and he experiences them mainly as a burden, but in his work he is able to implement them in a positive way, and create something beautiful. Although he longs for freedom, both in his life and work, control still prevails.
His work is included in private collections in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Norway.
