Rob Scholte Biography
Rob Scholte (1958 - ), born in Amsterdam, studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie from 1977 to 1982, subsequently joining the artist collective W139. Here he made his debut together with Sandra Derks in 1982 with the 'masterpiece' Rom 87, a series of variations painted in free style on a coloring book for children. He continued to abandon this style in favor of painstakingly detailed paintings which he began exhibiting in the Living Room in 1984. Scholte's works were selected for the prestigious Documenta in Kassel in 1987 and in 1990 he was commissioned for the Dutch pavilion at Venice Biennale Exhibition. For Scholte, originality does not exist: reproductions play an important role in his art. Reproductions ensure that a work reaches the widest possible audience, which is why the most frequently reproduced work of art is the most important, he once said. With a precise and realistic style (as if it were already a reproduction) Scholte copies existing images from the media, advertising and illustrated books. In 1991 Scholte won the commission for a massive frieze for the walls and ceiling of the Huis Ten Bosch Resort in Nagasaki, Japan. The mural, which measures 1,200 square meters, took Scholte and his large team of assistants years to complete. Entitled After us the flood, it took as its theme the continuous repetition of war throughout history. During this time Scholte survived an attempt on his life, although the car bomb cost him both legs. However, Nagasaki's masterpiece was completed on time. It was inaugurated on August 9, 1995 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the nuclear attack on Nagasaki.
