Kees Schouten

In a world that often feels harsh—marked by wars, violence, volatile markets, and sometimes just an annoying colleague at work—I search for balance. My work arises from a deep desire for clarity, calm, and simplicity. A space to pause, to breathe, and to momentarily escape the constant noise of everyday life.
Using minimal means—glass, light, space—I create images that breathe silence. I work intuitively, with attention to the material and to whatever wants to emerge. Glass plays a central role: it catches and transforms light in ways that can’t be controlled. In that unpredictability lies its honesty, its life.
My installations, objects and paintings are not statements, nor conceptual riddles. They ask nothing. They simply are—a visual pause. A place to be, to look, to feel. A still presence that doesn’t shout but whispers. Not loud or grand, but quiet and clear.
Sometimes, something that is simply beautiful is exactly what we need.

Graduated ArtSchool in 1984 (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Soloshows in Amsterdam, Haarlem (NL), Amersfoort (NL), Rhoon (NL) and Essen (D). Groupshows in Amsterdam, Haarlem, The Hague, London, Paris, Tokyo, Kaapstad, Borken (D).

Soloshows in Amsterdam, Haarlem (NL), Amersfoort (NL), Rhoon (NL) and Essen (Germany).
Groupshows in Paris (2018), Dusseldorf and Berlin (2019) and various places in the Netherlands (2016 - 2019).
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, the Netherlands, summer 2015 (groupshow).
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, the Netherlands, summer 2014 (groupshow).
Kasteel van Rhoon, Rhoon (Rotterdam), feb-march 2014, soloshow with 30 works.
Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 20 feb - 29 may 2011, "Verzamelen / Collecting" (groupshow). With catalogue, work illustrated in color.
Museum Elisabeth Weeshuis, Culemborg, the Netherlands, 6 june - 19 sept 2010, "Zitten op Gispen" (groupshow)
Vishal, Haarlem, the Netherlands, 23 oct - 7 nov 2010, "Kunstlijn" (groupshow)
Kloostergangen (city hall), Haarlem, the Netherlands, 2 - 26 nov 2010, "Kunstlijn 25 years" (groupshow). With catalogue, work illustrated in color.