Rotteveel Vermeer
ROTTEVEEL VERMEER is a Dutch colorist duo, consisting of visual artist Jochem Rotteveel and fashion stylist Thomas Vermeer.
Their shared fascination with color brought them together.
Jochem Rotteveel describes himself as a painter, who utilizes special materials: adhesive foil and tape. For more than ten years, these materials have served as Rotteveels ‘paintbrush’ and ‘paint’ as he continually refines his technique with each new work.
For the same period of time, Thomas Vermeer has been working as a stylist for major brands such as Hermès, Vlisco and Longchamp and fashion magazines like ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar. Although Rotteveel and Vermeer are active in two different creative disciplines, their collaboration was a matter of course from day one.
With foil and tape, ROTTEVEEL VERMEER investigates several boundaries. By folding the foil, they add volume onto flat surfaces, stretching the boundary between two-dimensional and three-dimensional. The material becomes pasty but does not reveal its origins. The spectator does not know whether it is metal, plastic or ceramic.
As Rotteveel and Vermeer are not able to physically blend colors, they aim to blend the colors optically. By following the creases, the viewer blends the colors optically. The incidental use of transparent foil further blends the colors. Whether the colors lie in line of each other or they clash, they always teach the viewer something new about themselves and each other.
