Sjaak Smetsers

Sjaak's images resemble fantasy figures where the human is united with the animal. Fantasy and humor, transparent and peppered with color. Far away from reality and the delusions of the day.
They seem like dream images, if it were not for the fact that the double faces in his images have a different purpose. As visible as both faces are, it is easy to ignore the ethical charge and meaning of his images due to the external beauty of his images.

In his images, Sjaak exposes the tension of the moral foundation of human existence, it could hardly be more transparent. Two faces in one cup. Four eyes. The good and the evil. Like a contrasting sauce over excellent tasting food. Devilish and divine.
Anyone who has a Sjaak Smetsers has both. That is the expressiveness of his work. You will find it in images as well as in his poetry. An energy that runs like a straight line through his work. It clearly shows us that he goes beyond the eternal difference between two. He even removes the tension between glass and metal. He turns two into one. Anyone who looks at his images or reads his poetry understands that he does not lose sight of harmony and contrast. That he brings bondage and freedom together without losing contact with the world around him. That's how he lives. That's how he is. That's how he treats people and me. Maybe that's why I love him. Perhaps that is why his images are so attractive.

Either way, his theme is universal. Everyone peels away life to get to the essence. Sjaak does that his way. He has an attitude to life in which one can laugh and in which tears can be shed. He peels down to the core and tries to understand and experience existence from there, he needs his artistry for that. For that he has to create.
We see it again, in his art and in his poetry. He does this “with both feet on the ground”, just as his images are well grounded and go out into the world with both feet on the ground.
And that world is very big.