Mark de Weijer creates wall coverings with a completely individual character, well suited to the interior’s design. His watercolours balance on the interface between fine art painting, architecture and design. His clients include interior designers, architects, private persons and public authorities.

The ambiguous nature of the works – autonomous as well as applied – is a conscious choice. Integrating aesthetics with functionality give these works extra depth. The authentic materials used are extremely well suited for application on a great variety of backgrounds in all kinds of spaces. The works give the interior a distinct character and a personal touch.

Lightly tinted, hand-made paper is directly applied to the wall according to a well-considered design. The colour is alive, the background is alive. The composition breathes with and melts into the surroundings. It is harmonious, yet striking in its simplicity. Although the work is not intrusive, it has a powerful presence and a strong three-dimensional effect.

Mark de Weijer’s work is the result of intensive research into the significance of fine art painting and the effects of material choice, structure and colour. As a background for his watercolours he uses purely scooped, handmade paper from a water-operated mill in the Dutch Veluwe area, one of the last surviving businesses still processing paper pulp according to traditional methods. The paper produced here has an unusual structure and a jagged edge.

Many layers and shades of strongly diluted watercolour paints are applied to the paper. This transparency allows the colour to be built up layer by layer, leaving the paper’s texture untouched. The layers of colour produce an irregular effect, partly because the interaction between background and pigment determines the intensity of the colours.

Mark de Weijer works in close collaboration with the client. He sees this as a prerequisite, because his work, both in concept and aesthetically, responds to the surroundings for which it is created. Before coming up with a design he analyses the location in detail. Form, rhythm, surface, structure and colour are all inseparably linked to this specific location. It is impossible to relocate the work and it is only in this specific location that it is shown to its full advantage.

English Translation: Marie Louise Schoondergang / The Art of Translation (2011)