Jordy van den Nieuwendijk's first-ever UK solo show opens tomorrow

Regular readers of It’s Nice That will know that pretty much since we settled in this corner of the internet there’s been one artist who has always sat with us: Jordy van den Nieuwendijk. Despite the countless times we’ve written about the Dutch artist from our London base, however, he’s never had an exhibition here – until this week. Opening tomorrow (28 November) at Public Gallery in east London, Jordy will quite rightly have his very own first UK solo show titled, There’s A Snake In My Boot.

Jordy’s first show in London features a series of farm-themed paintings (that’s right, farm-themed) only available to peak at in the gallery between 28 November – 12 January 2019. But the farm, which includes your expected hay bales, giant forks and English daises is not like the rural settings most are familiar with, thanks to Jordy’s signature injection of colour.

In Jordy’s depiction of a farm, the works “invite you to imagine yourself outside in the barnyard, on the farmland,” says the gallery of his paintings. “They are shy of animals or human figures; no-one is ploughing the fields, scattering seeds or preparing the soil for planting. Perhaps this suggests that the viewer takes on the role of the farmer being asked to observe, enjoy and wander without getting dirty and tired from their labours,” it suggests.

Like most of the artist’s work, the paintings featured in There’s A Snake In My Boot sit within Jordy’s usual style of painting one central object, surrounded by bright backgrounds abstracting how you’d usually view such an object, “located in the centre and foreground arranged as if on a stage,” adds the gallery. Jordy’s love of painting peppers manages to still sneak its way into his newest series and each object has the Nieuwendijk lick of paint: “highlighting various vanishing points on the horizon that are different in height, allows the artist to play with perspective and point of view”.

There’s A Snake In My Boot, a show of joyful and colourful optimism celebrating nature and manmade objects is definitely one to catch before the year is up.