Biography
Renë Daniëls (*1950 Eindhoven NL) focuses on drawing and painting on paper and canvas.
Daniëls attended the Den Bosch Art Academy in 1972, where he mastered painting and was influenced by a number of German artists including, Markus Raets, Sigmar Polke and Georg Baselitz. Raets in particular resonated with him, as the work recalled that of the Belgian painter René Magritte.
Daniëls first exhibited in Düsseldorf in 1977, where he explored the relationship between language and image. In 1978 he created a series of paintings featuring gramophone records, bookcases and cameras. Daniëls working method involved making a series of preparatory sketches on paper. For subjects, he drew from his immediate environment. At a time when Punk music was in vogue, he regularly attended concerts and recorded movies with his super 8 camera, whose subjects would occur in his work. In a 1983 interview with art critic Anna Tilroe , he himself described his working process as a form of ' automation', with the same shapes reappearing in a whole series of paintings - something beyond his control, and happened naturally. Daniëls was more concerned with the composite whole rather than any single element.
In the early 1980s, Daniëls participated in exhibitions including Westkunst (1981, Cologne), Zeitgeist (1982, Berlin) and Documenta 7 (1982, Kassel). At this point he was internationally known and his work sold well. However, in 1987, Daniëls suffered a brain haemorrhage. Since 2006 he has been creating small works and drawings again. After his haemorrhage, hundreds of drawings, sketches and verbal notes found in his studio were housed in the René Daniëls Foundation.