X BANK Amsterdam – OPENING EXHIBITION MAKE IT GOLD

Life, happiness and beauty are the internally related themes that arc Verstraten’s universe,
the philosophical backdrop for his works of art, which we use to understand his creations.

It is in this realm that the artist makes a visual statement about society,
using gold leaf as a power symbol for immaculate beauty. Decorative in a sense, much like the use of gold leaf in ancient temples,
but in a more bold and cheeky way, fitting to the overheated state of affairs in modern society.
It’s a backdrop that has evolved since the artist’s teenage youth as a writer and singer about love and depression.
At one point in his life, words stopped to prove being of use in attempts to explain meaning of life,
which is when the canvass started to become his mirror for the soul.
This was the moment that the artist decided to stop writing and start painting.

‘Art is a decorative silence that speaks’.