From January 29 to March 28, 2016, Museum Jan van der Togt dedicated an exhibition to the work of Herman Brood, which would turn 70 that year. The exhibition showed paintings and drawings from a number of private collections, including the Brood family.

Herman Brood (1946 - 2001) painted as he stood in life: full of dedication, quickly and without making concessions. He was an admirer of the Cobra movement and in particular of Lucebert. “I learn a lot from my daughter. Lucebert did that too. Sometimes I wonder if he made everything himself or one of his children. ”Brood was also influenced by pop art artist Robert Rauschenberg and abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock.

“Your son is color blind, but that is not a disaster. He can become anything but a visual artist, ”the school doctor entrusted Brood's mother. What no one thought was possible happened. “I started drawing at a very young age and had known all my life that I would become a painter. After the small sizes on paper, my self-confidence slowly grew and I started making bigger canvases. ”

In his paintings, Brood mainly chose primary colors. With black paint he sometimes added texts or poems. “The use of slogans can be traced back to comics. I want to capture an image or situation. A wipe or color is not nearly enough, let alone a wallpaper-like pattern. "

In 2001 Brood ended his life by jumping off the roof of the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam. However, his spirit lives on in the extensive oeuvre that he left behind.

Photo: Gerard Wessel Photography