Robert-Jan Poorter

An autodidact artist with a distinctly non-linear biography, Poorter brings rare authenticity to the art world. His journey – from a modest upbringing and a professional tennis career to doing time in prison and on stage as a jazz musician – deeply informs his practice. These formative experiences do not merely shape his narrative; they saturate his canvases with existential resonance and emotional depth.

Poorter works primarily in oil on canvas. Poorter’s paintings dance between illusion and reality, inviting viewers into scenes where the innocence of childhood collides with the disillusionments of adulthood. Rather than delivering certainties, he offers subjective truths, visual inquiries that challenge, disarm and ultimately connect.

Inspired by Corinne Wasmuht, Neo Rauch, Yoshitomo Nara, Vicky Vainionpää, Sarah Poorter (mama)

With his latest series “Nice Cream”, Rotterdam born artist Robert-Jan Poorter explores the fleeting nature of joy through the metaphor of ice – ephemeral, tempting, and inevitably melting. Frames under the conceptual motto “Ice as a narrative of happiness - Happiness is as fleeting as an ice cream on a stick. Only this one, lasts” this new body of work positions Poorter as a vital voice in contemporary ...

Autodidact artist. Inspired by Corinne Wasmuht, Neo Rauch, Yoshitomo Nara, Vicky Vainionpää, Sarah Poorter (his mother)

Part of his work was previously shown in the Bondt The Gallery, Germany.