Exuberant brushstrokes by Menno Baars. He might be seen as combining the extremes of modern Dutch painting as well as American Action Painting. Like them he seeks to convey a profound, spiritual message. Like Vincent Van Gogh his painting is a vehement, visceral identification with paint, making of it a living substance. And as with Karel Appel, there is in Baars's art a lofty ideality and purity, a love of contrasting primary colours. He may also be regarded as an Abstract Expressionist of the gesturalist school, as many of his works are similar in style to his American counterpart William de Kooning, who is in fact also a Dutch painter. Obvious colour is the key element in Menno Baars's work, both visually and structurally. Baars allows his exceptionally visual language to evolve from his unconscious, without being controlled by reason. One can descibe his primitive imagery and energetic work by a thick application of paint, violent colors and vehement broad brush stroke combined with childlike naïveté. Menno Baars was born as the son of a lawyer. After he had graduated from medical school he started painting. He worked his way into the public mainstream from humble beginnings. He wasn’t born into a wealthy family, nor did he have connections to the professional art world. He rose to international reputation first selling his paintings at small venues and battling rejection by art critics. ´The irony of starting medicine rounds is that I attended the teaching hospital and left a changed man`, mr. Baars said about himself, ´I experienced a profound change as a person, and that day sat off my life´s most creative period so far`. As from that moment he started to paint. In his Studio he became a barbarian. Rough, wild and exiting. This ´Baarsbarian´ didn´t know self-imposed limitations anymore. Nowadays the work of art by Menno Baars is given the amount of significant 21st-century art. In 2008 he made a claim to fame by throwing paint out of a helicopter at an airplane and in 2009 Menno Baars painted the front sail of a racing yacht in action during the Volvo Ocean Race near Stockholm. In 2010 he gave a hot air balloon the Baars make-over and in 2011 he painted a BMW M3 art car. Menno Baars's work consists mainly of abstract paintings with bright colours, very active brushwork and heavy impastoed acrylic paint. Those are just a few of the many words that spring to mind when describing the brush strokes that come from his painting pot. One of Baars's most famous works is his 2007 "Understanding New York" which he painted for JFK Airport, New York. An artist that´s exploring and doing so with a great deal of truth, confidence and joy. Likely it is his relative isolation from the icons of contemporary art and the influence of dead and life as seen in the hospital through the eyes of the physician, that make this body of work so interesting to contemplate and behold.

Exuberant brushstrokes by Menno Baars

Menno baars might be seen as combining the extremes of modern Dutch painting as well as American Action Painting. Like them he seeks to convey a profound, spiritual message. Like Vincent Van Gogh his painting is a vehement, visceral identification with paint, making of it a living substance. And as with Karel Appel, there is in Baars's art a lofty ideality and purity, a love of contrasting primary colours. He may also be regarded as an Abstract Expressionist of the gesturalist school, as many of his works are similar in style to his American counterpart William de Kooning, also a Dutch painter. Obvious colour is the key element in Menno Baars's work, both visually and structurally. Baars allows his exceptionally visual language to evolve from his unconscious, without being controlled by reason. One can descibe his primitive imagery and energetic work by a thick application of paint, violent colors and vehement broad brush stroke combined with childlike naïveté. Those are just a few of the many words that spring to mind when describing the brush strokes that come from his painting pot. Baars: "Be daring, be different, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary."

Menno Baars was born as the son of a lawyer. After he had graduated from medical school he started painting. He worked his way into the public mainstream from humble beginnings. He wasn’t born into a wealthy family, nor did he have connections to the professional art world. He rose to international reputation first selling his paintings at small venues and battling rejection by art critics. ´The irony of starting cardiology rounds is that I attended the teaching hospital and left a changed man`, mr. Baars said about himself, ´I experienced a profound change as a person, and that day sat off my life´s most creative period so far`. As from that moment he started to paint. He said, “Like De Kooning I have to change to stay the same”. Change requires work and a lot of risk-taking. To do it continually reflects a tremendous level of energy and endurance.

One of Baars's most famous works is his 2007 "Understanding New York" which he painted for JFK Airport, New York. In 2008 he made a claim to fame by throwing paint out of a helicopter at an airplane and in 2009 Menno Baars painted the front sail of a racing yacht in action during the Volvo Ocean Race near Stockholm. In 2010 he gave a hot air balloon and a BMW M3 car the Baars make-over. in 2011 he made his Liberty Nudes series. Using bodies as a vehicle, pushing painted people beyond physical and mental limits.

Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Menno Baars is changing all the time and risking his life in the process. He creates performances that challenge, sometimes shock, and move us. Through him and with him, boundaries are crossed, consciousness expanded, and art as we know it is reborn. An artist that´s exploring and doing so with a great deal of truth, confidence and joy. Likely it is his relative isolation from the icons of contemporary art, a self-taught painter, and the influence of dead and life as seen in the hospital through the eyes of the physician, that make this body of work so interesting to contemplate and behold.