About Carlos Blaaker

Carlos Blaaker is a sculptor, painter and photographer. All his works show a high degree of commitment. He attended the Nola Hatterman academy in Suriname. He then graduated from the Art Student League in New York and moved to Rotterdam, where he continued his artistic career for almost twenty years. In 2009 he for Curaçao.

Blaaker has a passion for authentic Caribbean culture, which is clearly reflected in both his sculptures and paintings. Over the years Blaaker has changed his style and color palette. But his inspiration has remained unchanged: the places in public space where human influence can clearly be recognized.

The austere shapes, the right angles and the many horizontal and vertical lines turn Blaaker’s monumental paintings into almost abstract compositions. When you compare his recent canvases with Blaaker’s earlier paintings, there seems to have been a break in his style. The sharp contours of buildings gave way to round shapes. The richness of warm colors has been replaced by a bright color palette. The images no longer form a whole but are composed of different parts in a collage-like manner. Blaaker’s paintings have become more autonomous. But the eagerness with which he spreads his paint on the canvas, with a brush, palette knife or directly from the tube, has remained the same. Blaaker paints everyday reality, in his work he takes trivial elements to a higher level. The paintings are an ode to the beauty of everyday life.

During ARTZUID 2021, ‘Balanceado con mis cosas/Balancing with my things’ was on display, a black woman painted white and who carries two boulders on her head, which she carefully balances. He has previously made similar sculptures, with women balancing melons on their heads.