Preface

Bob Bonies has, with his particular form of art, taken up a direction which can be considered to be a successor to the de Stijl movement. His works are a continuation and development of the principles of this art form which originated in the Netherlands. He has extended the strict reduction to the three basic colours by including green in his large works. Not only in this way, however, but also in formal ways has he endeavored to shift the boundaries of his preceding generation. He paints segments of circles which he combines with strictly rectangular shapes. Bob Bonies is an impassioned innovator. Thus he demonstrates through his art, which has connections with hard-edge painting as well as with the classical shaped canvases, that a composition constructed solely according to aesthetic criteria loses nothing in the way of relevance or freshness.

Formally, Bob Bonies is interested in the phenomenon of movement. This he achieves not only by juxtaposing the three basic colours with green, leading to a differentiated sense of depth, but also by placing the different shapes and forms in an irritating way relative to one another within the picture. These subtle effects help to demonstrate to the viewer how sensitive his spatial perception is.

It is a pleasure for us to extend our hearty thanks to Bob Bonies for his dedicated help. It was not only his “Haagse Hopjes” but also his honest enthusiasm for this exhibition which made the preparations really enjoyable. We also thank Naomi Duveen, who accompanied the preparations with many good proposals and suggestions. Our sincere thanks are due to Dr. Elisabeth Grossmann, director of the “Haus Konstruktiv” in Zurich and a friend of the Arithmeum from the beginning, who has agreed to contribute an article to this catalogue and to speak at the opening.

As always, we are especially grateful to our sponsors, without whose continued support this exhibition would not have been possible.