About the work

The question, I guess, is are we looking at two pretty birds here or are these two characters looking for pretty birds? My guess is as good as anyone’s but much of what goes on in my work can be traced back to a specific way of looking on masculinity. This would be a good starting point for interpreting this drawing too. In singular drawings like Pretty Bird I & II things are mostly made up during the process of drawing, that is different when I work on a series of drawings (such as a recent series of large drawings I did following a residency in Svalbard or the series Boys R Us) or drawings that go back to themes I explored before. In this case there is always at least a rough idea at the basis of a drawing when I start working on it.

Date and country of birth

1960, NL>

About the artist

Ronald Cornelissen (b. 1960, Beverwijk) lives and works in Rotterdam. Graduated from AKV St. Joost Academy, Breda (1988). Cornelissen was the recipient of the Prix Canson (2011). Select residences include Fountainhead Residency, Miami (2008); and Instituto Buena Bista, Curaçao Center for Contemporary Art, Curaçao (2007). Select solo exhibitions include Waiting for Bardot, The American Gallery, Marseille (2017); Hoogvliet Mon Amour, Bernard Jordan Gallery, Paris (2016); Ground/Grond, Drawing Centre Diepenheim, Diepenheim (2015-2016); Malice the Goon & Practice the Goon in pop goes the easel, Intersections/Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam (2015); Solo presentation for Prix Canson, Slick Art Fair, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2011); The Horesemen’s Kitchenette (When Demons Cook), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2010); and Recent Drawings, De Hallen, Haarlem (2006). Select group exhibitions include Drawing Now Paris, Carreau du Temple, Paris (2018); Papel Papel III, Gallery Bernard Jordan, Paris (2018); Drawing Biennial 2017, Drawing Room, London (2017); Panda Sex, State of Concept, Athens (2014); Forcefield, A.VE.NU.DE.JET.TE – Institut de carton, Brussels (2014); The City, the Artists and the Museum, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2013); The Traveller, TENT, Rotterdam (2012); Paysage Mental, le dessin sans dessein, Musée Eugène Le Roy, Tourcoing (2011); and Expenditure, Busan Biennale 2008, Busan (2008).