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Vincent de Boer (1988) is a well-known Dutch artist, living and working in Utrecht. He graduated from the HKU in 2010 with a BA in Graphic Design.
Driven by a fascination with the traces left behind after making calligraphic movements and making markings, he explores calligraphy in his work.
Calligraphy as a discipline and art form has fascinated him since his childhood — he was gripped by it and has been skilled in it ever since. He always sought the limits of the art by imposing new technical challenges on himself.
His work has been celebrated and exhibited internationally, fortunately it is still in situ in many places to see in the Netherlands. For example, on the recent h3h Biennale exhibition A Deeper Shade of Soul in Oosterhout (21 June to 03 August 2025).
This biennial traditionally takes place on the unique landscaped monastery grounds of the Holy Triangle.
On that site there are three beautiful monasteries — all three still in function — that border together triangularly.
St. Catherine’s Valley, inhabited by the sisters, Norbertines. The Our Lady Abbey, inhabited by the sister’s Benedictines. And St. Paul’s Abbey, inhabited by Chemin Neuf community.
At the biennale the work of 20 artists came together in an exhibition curated by Nanda Janssen.
Inspiration and meaning formed the keynote of this biennial, in which the connection between religion, art and life takes shape.
On behalf of GERSTAECKER, Robert Rost visited him on that biennial. He spoke to him about his fascination with the complexity that can lurk in an apparently simple brushstroke. His knowledge and passion of material. And about how in the nuance of a single brushstroke a whole story full of poetry can appear.
We walk through to the chapel of St. Catherine’s Valley, where Vincent calls the names and birth dates of all Norbertinessen sisters on a wide, tens of a meter long roll of paper.
Every day during the evening-official, all the sisters who have ever died on that day in question are commemorated—and the order has existed since 1271 and has been in Oosterhout since 1647! A meaningful ritual that Vincent emphasizes. Just as in the monastic life, repetition, order, rhythm, regularity, and dedication are central.
We enter the cool chapel and enter a space in which we look directly against the large drawing machine that Vincent is working on. The machine functions as a monumental sculpture through which the drawing runs and is and is an anolog machine; a workstation and a work of art made by Jonas Wijtenburg.
It is one of the three drawing machines that Jonas made for Vincent. Behind the front is Vincent writing in supreme concentration, at the front all the names of the sisters appear tightly framed on the roll. To present the names legibly on this side, he writes the names on the work side upside down.
Trapped in his attention to his work, Vincent does not realize that we have already arrived — and the large group of visitors who are watching cannot get him out of his concentration.
We recognize the materials he uses today, such as the large roll of paper of 50 meters long, which GERSTAECKER has specially included in the range at his request. But also, the I LOVE ART brushes that he has selected for this project.
As soon as he decides to take a short break to give his arms, hands, and eyes a little rest, we get the opportunity to speak to Vincent over a welcome lunch.
We start the conversation on where it all started.
He remembers it all well and his eyes gloating when retrieving all these memories. His eyes radiate throughout the conversation and his passion for his profession splashes from it when he speaks about it.
Under the influence of the visual language of hip-hop street culture, he expanded his knowledge and experience as a young man. During his study graphic design at the HKU, the Course had his full attention, although Vincent already knew clearly that he did not want to become a typographer.
Vincent — ‘During his years at the academy… the academy, I primarily sought out artists and designers like Luca Barcellona and Yomar Augusto.
Robert — ‘Do you still have any big heroes now that you’ve come this far and are a professional in the field?’
Vincent —‘ I think Lee Ufan is a truly special artist. But I also absolutely adore Moebius. I also have a strong connection with musicians, but that’s no longer about form, but mainly about attention and the kind of experimentation they allow.’
Robert — ‘Here at the Biennale you all write names, but often you also work on the machine with only patterns that seem to arise by itself. You don’t seem to work with a design?’
Vincent — ‘That’s truly “improvisational drawing.” It’s very systematic, and I do set certain limitations for myself, for example, I only want this roll to be angular, or a roll with only five colors. It’s always, “This is the standard, horizontal stripes, a symmetrical composition, etc.,” and then I want to add one thing. Often very measured adjustments to the standard’
Robert — “like you’re always change a piece of the coding?”
Vincent — “Yes, exactly, that’s really it. You can now use five colors, and then I think, wow, what possibilities.’
Robert — ‘What materials do you work with? Ink, paper and brushes?”
Vincent — ‘Yes, and then the Wenhzou paper, which thankfully you sell in three sizes, is really my favorite material to work with at the moment. It’s really long and fits perfectly in one of my other set-ups. The great thing is that it’s so flexible and doesn’t stick to the position of my roller.’
With a brush I select on how ‘sharp’ it can be and what texture it leaves behind.’
Robert — ‘You use the I LOVE ART brushes from GERSTAECKER, but they are fairly cheap and not professional? We wouldn’t expect you to love them.’
Vincent — ‘Right, but that’s my tip: Each method requires something different, so be open to all options. I once bought children’s hobby pens in Japan that has been my daily favourite for six years now! It doesn’t look good, but I’m having plenty of fun. Unfortunately, I can’t find it again.”
Robert — ‘Do you find the grip useful on this I LOVE ART brush?’
Vincent — ‘No, I don’t really care about the grip. Although I do like it when I must put the brush down for a while, I know it won’t slip away in my paint tray. Of course, this brush doesn’t match the durability of a brush like the da Vinci 1800, which truly lasts for years. But it offers a sharper contrast between thick (vertical) and thin (horizontal). It beautifully retains more ink in the curve I create on the paper, in the elbow of the shape. So, it turned out to be better suited to the handwriting I developed for this project!
Vincent — ‘When I started selecting material for this project, I had previously received this brush as a tip from a colleague and I thought: I should order one. When I tried it for the first time and produced one line with it, I thought wow!! I pulled it to the corner and then I got such a sharp line and that da Vinci brushes just can’t do this as well.”
Robert — ‘So you make a different material selection for each project with other brushes?’
Vincent — “You have to know your materials through and through. This is how you build up a library of possibilities that can be useful in a project later. As an artist, you also have to be an ambassador for your own process and technique.”
Robert — “You clearly control your material down to the last detail.”
Vincent — ‘Calligraphy is a very beautiful medium to tell the story of how important material knowledge and material research are. Try, experiment, observe others closely — and don’t immediately set goals or make rigid judgments.’
Robert — “You mainly work with flat brushes, right?”
Vincent — “Right!”
Robert — “But usually round brushes are common in calligraphy?”
Vincent — “Yes, especially in the Oriental calligraphy.”
Robert — “What kind of ink do you use?”
Vincent — ‘The Talens East Indian ink is a very good ink, but not my favourite. That’s a Japanese ink. But that Talens ink is very good. For example, I made a work years ago with Talens ink on Hahnemuehle paper that has been in the sun for years and that black is just as black and intense as on the first day.
In general, the colour fastness of ink is just so good. If you also work on well paper, it will almost always be very nice.’
Robert — “What is important to you in ink?”
Vincent — ‘For me, it is important how liquid it is and that it does not shine too much when it dries, it has to remain colourfast for years and that it is extremely black, even when you work as dry as I am.
I also always work on acid-free paper; that’s my standard. Even for my sketches. For example, in 2015 I made a really great piece that was printed on study materials. You simply can’t exhibit or sell this anymore.’
Vincent shows his drawing book. When the book opens, pages appear full of drawings, most set with brush and ink. It is wonderful to see and incredible how much detail can be observed up to the millimeters due to the technique he used with the brush. It looks almost print but they are really originals with ink on paper.
Vincent explains that by putting one side of his brush on the paper and then spreading his brush, he makes his brush twice as wide. Then, by placing the brush on the other side of the paper and dragging it, the brush becomes thin again and obtains its unique lines.
Vincent — ‘’The way I do this is actually something only left-handed people can do. It’s nice how everything comes together again.”
Robert — “I read that you mentioned how your work reflects the interconnectedness of life, or how life is structured. That you’re interested in the mystical contradictions hidden in the working process, such as the depth of a flat surface, transcendent time, and elusive tactility?’’
Vincent — ‘Look, I know very much about letters and therefore about communication with each other. Not only do you communicate, but how to communicate. Look, you can write something down and that can be done in just as many ways. So, you can communicate the same word in numberous ways — that fascinates me enormously.
What kind of story can you tell with one letter? You can tell a lot with a line; how is the line set, for example with a hesitation, a vibration, or a contradiction etc. A line can also be a kind of lifeline and has a beginning and an end. The two can come together again and then you have a cycle. I just think those metaphors are beautiful and fascinating to me. By focusing on the basics and seeing it as a test set-up, you are going to understand more and more things.
As an artist, I can immerse myself in things all the time. I recently did a project about plankton and then you suddenly learn a lot about that theme that fascinates me. I think about what is my role in this? Well, I am an expert in calligraphy and can I somehow bring together those two forms of enthusiasm?
For example, we also learn more and more about nature, or how animals communicate with each other and I would like to tell the story of science more often with my work to have a little more admiration for how special our environment is. For example, I recently read that we now know that spiders store some of their memory in the web. That’s insane, isn’t it? I have a memory in my hand!”
Robert — “Are you feeling like you compose things yourself or what do you think is your creation?”
Vincent — ‘’I don’t necessarily feel the need to give myself credit for everything. Perhaps I’m simply showing what’s already there. Of course, there wasn’t a line to begin with, and as soon as I draw one, there will be. But what I’m doing is essentially a displacement of matter. That paper was originally part of a tree that stood elsewhere. I’m transferring the paint from a pot or container to a stretched-out version on a sheet of paper. Art is essentially just a matter of giving care and attention. What I’m doing here at the Biennale is an imprint of the energy I have within a systematic approach, and if my attention is truly focused, I lose all sense of time and it becomes a kind of meditative state. I become a kind of conduit that can then sense and visualize the meaning.
This project is about meaning. So, it has to have meaning and purpose for me first, before I can offer it to anyone else. For me, that also has to do with a certain kind of sincerity and enthusiasm. When I fully feel that, it also comes through in the work I create. I forget everything around me and often feel the deepest emotions. Only when I feel that myself can I offer it to someone else through my work.’’
GERSTAECKER | Artist Paper No. 2 — 50-meter roll
➽ Added to the GERSTAECKER range at Vincent’s request — he used this paper roll in his drawing machine for this project.
This paper is 150 cm wide and 50 meters long — that’s a whopping 75 m² of paper! One side has a fine grain, the other side is slightly smoother. You can use it for graphite, ink, pastels, charcoal, and lino printing, among other things. Made in bulk, 180 g/m², LL. Artist quality with an excellent price-performance ratio!
➽ Specially made for GERSTAECKER = exclusive to GERSTAECKER — you won’t find a 50-meter roll like this anywhere else!
WENZHOU Chinese Paper — Roll
This off-white Chinese paper is made from 50% bamboo straw, 30% salago fibers, and 20% rice cellulose. It has a somewhat coarser surface texture. At the same time, however, this paper is soft and fine, characteristic of many Eastern papers. Although the grammage of this thin paper is only 30 g/m², it is extremely strong.
WENZOU can be used for woodcuts and linocuts, (ink) drawings, classic sumi-e techniques, and calligraphic work. Available on a roll in four different sizes.
Seawhite OF BRIGHTON | CASEBOUND SKETCHBOOK dummy ○ bound hardback — cloth cover
This classic is Vincent’s favorite sketchbook. The paper used is 140 gsm All-Media Cartridge paper. This heavy-duty paper is a Seawhite OF BRIGHTON specialty. It has a medium grain and is sized, making it suitable for almost all dry and wet techniques.
You can choose from three formats in multiple dimensions — Vincent likes to use DIN A3 in landscape format.
• I LOVE ART | Brush 792 – flat — synthetic hair
TIP! Vincent likes to work with a flat brush, but in this range, you will find no less than 12 different brush shapes.
• Royal Talens | East Indian ink
Almost everyone knows this ink. You can sign, write & calligraphy — you can even use it in your airbrush!
About Vincent
Vincent de Boer (1988) is a well-known Dutch artist, living and working in Utrecht. He graduated from the HKU in 2010 with a BA in Graphic Design.
Calligraphy as a discipline and art form has fascinated him since his childhood — he was gripped by it and has been skilled in it ever since. He always sought the limits of them by imposing technical challenges on himself.
About Jonas
The drawing machine Vincent uses was made by Jonas Wijtenburg — visual artist, sculpture, and sculptural collaborations.
About Robert
Robert Rost is a professional painter and lives and works in Rotterdam. He has a track record in the field of murals, studio paintings & portraits.
In addition to his painting practice, he has a lot of experience in the transfer of knowledge about painting materials and techniques. He taught at the Willem de Koonin g academy in Rotterdam and set up The Fine Art Collective in the Netherlands, with which he supported many academies and art students for many years with clinics and projects on the use of materials in collaboration with museums and professional artists.
With his great passion for painting, he has been involved with many subjects and themes, but lately he has mainly focused on the theme of Crowd painting.
2025 — text: Vincent de Boer, Robert Rost & editors Gerstaecker NL | 2025 — image: Vincent de Boer, Fred Sonnega, Robert Rost & editors Gerstaecker NL & GreatArt UK
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