Clemens Briels
Born 1946, Son

Biography: from advertising to studio

Clemens Briels was born in 1946 in Son, a municipality in the Brabant Kempen region. His artistic talent manifested early: at the age of eleven, he already won a drawing competition at his primary school. In 1965, he began his education at the Academy for Industrial Design in Eindhoven, with the express goal of becoming an artist. At the urging of his parents, he initially took a different path.

Briels built a successful career in the advertising and design world, successively as a graphic designer, illustrator, art director and finally creative director. The profession gave him sharpness in composition, use of color and translating a message into an image. But at the age of 46, he let the urge to paint take over definitively. Around 1992 he turned his back on the advertising world and devoted himself entirely to free visual arts.

What followed was an international career that brought him to galleries and museums on five continents, with recognition ranging from multinationals to the Olympic committee.

Antipodism: an art philosophy

Briels calls his style Antipodism, subtitled "Images from Unknown Sources". He describes it as his personal fourth dimension, in which every existence has a direct and opposite existence. In his own words: "The colour is the vehicle, the message is what it is all about."

Antipodism is about contrasts that do not exclude each other but strengthen each other: color versus silence, humor versus seriousness, the individual versus the mass, movement versus rest. Briels deliberately transforms everyday themes into something unexpected: recognizable enough to touch, deviating enough to remember. The strong Latin American influences stem from his travels through the Caribbean, North and South America and the Middle East.

Also characteristic is his deliberate disdain for academic perspective. Where traditions force a defined sense of space, Briels creates his own visual reality. Figures are expressively enlarged, compositions move from left to right like music, and the color palettes always contain an unexpected combination that no other artist would dare.

Olympic Artist: Salt Lake City 2002

In 2002, Clemens Briels became the official artist of the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. It was the first time in history that a Dutch visual artist was selected for this honorary title. His Olympic work "A Jump for Joy" was painted on a snowboard and was released worldwide as a limited three-dimensional screen print. A second work from this period, "The Fragrance of Park City", was also released as a screen print.

The Olympic recognition confirmed what galleries in Europe, North America and Asia already knew: Briels' work transcends cultural boundaries. It combines universal themes of movement, freedom and human connection with a style so distinctly personal that it is instantly recognizable.

Internationally exhibited on five continents

During his career, Clemens Briels exhibited in cities and regions on five continents. A selection:

In August 2008, his museum exhibition took place in Shanghai. In June 2024, he exhibited at Zanolino Art Gallery with the exhibition "Images from Unknown Sources", the title that most sharply summarizes his Antipodism philosophy.

Corporate commissions and collaborations

In addition to his free work, Briels received commissions from a large number of international companies. His work is included in the collections or product design of:

• •KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• •Philips
• •ABN AMRO
• •Ford Motor Company
• •Fortis
• •Pfizer
• •Sara Lee
• •DSM Chemicals
• •Holland Casino
• •Leolux (furniture design)

Two collaborations deserve special mention. In 1995, Briels, together with furniture designer Frans Schrofer, designed the Amphora armchair for Leolux, equipped with a special abstracted velvet in his characteristic colors. And for Ford he designed the upholstery for a special edition of the Ford Ka: fifty copies received his fabric design, followed by a thousand extra copies in the "Art with a Large Ka" edition with his signature.

In the Czech Republic, Briels designed mouth-blown vases, which were manufactured manually by glassblowers in the traditional Bohemian glass tradition.

Publications

• • Clemens Briels: 1998-2002 (monograph) Author: Tatie Daal. Publisher: Press/Art Editions, Eindhoven (2002). Contains paintings, objects, sculptures, furniture designs, screen prints and corporate commissions from the period 1998-2002.
• • Antipodism (limited edition) Numbered and artist-signed edition of 750 copies. Introduction by Hennie van de Louw. Thorough overview of the Antipodism philosophy and the oeuvre of Briels.

Techniques and media

Clemens Briels deliberately works in multiple media and views the variety as part of his art practice. His fields of expertise:

• • Acrylic on canvas: Original unique paintings in pronounced color oppositions
• • Screen print (serigraphy): Limited editions, sometimes in 3D execution painted on unusual carriers such as snowboards
• • Sculpture: Three-dimensional figures and wall objects in acrylic on resin
• • Glass art: Mouth-blown vases manufactured in the Czech Republic
• • Furniture design: Fabrics, carpets and furniture, e.g. for Leolux
• • Product design: Upholstery and fabric design for the automotive industry (Ford)