Robbin Heyker (b. 1976) his paintings are intentionally legible. By applying painting strokes thinly on a monochromatic background and showing surfaces isolated in the composition, every action can be discerned. It is as if by working in this way, the artist wants to be able to trace the magic of the final canvas in the steps he has taken to do so.

Often the canvases reference postmodern painters such as Daan van Golden, Blinky Palermo or Niele Toroni. By revisiting essential elements of their oeuvre, he engages in the specific games these artists have set up for themselves. Since 2016 on a series of canvases based on birds he has seen as a birdwatcher. Again, the game element is essential; only when Heyker has really seen the bird is he allowed to translate its color combination into an abstract composition.

Robbin Heyker lives and works in The Hague and in Beijing. In addition to his training at the KABK, the artist has done several residencies, including at C-Space (Beijing), New Jörg (Vienna) and CCA Andratx (Mallorca). Recent solo exhibitions showed Heyker at Galeria Alegria in Barcelona (2022) and at Bjorn and Gundorph Gallery in Aarhus (2022). Recent group exhibitions include A Grand Day Out, Kate Projectspace in Amsterdam (2023) and Steps and Moves, a group exhibition with Willem Hussem and Klaas Kloosterboer at Billytown, The Hague (2024).