The approach W1 is pleased to present Paintings: 1936–2008, a group show of historical works by Francis Picabia and René Daniëls alongside contemporary paintings by Rezi van Lankveld, Michael Raedecker, Neal Tait, Andro Wekua and Sam Windett.

In a description of René Daniëls' paintings Jaap Breme noted that he played with the image, ‘combining or concealing meanings, indicating the multifaceted and mutable significance of things’[1]. Describing his own work, René Daniëls, a great admirer of Picabia said they were, ‘a combination of visual poetry on the one hand and painting on the other'[2]. A clear representational narrative runs through Paintings: 1936–2008 but the methodology of and approach to painting is also apparent, the motif here functions as the vehicle and not just the goal.

1 & 2 Jaap Brener, In Retrospect, René Daniëls – The Most Contemporary Picture Show, exhibition catalogue, Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Netherlands, 1998, p.10