Ronald Kleijer
Ronald Kleijer’s paintings are philosophical meditations – a spiritual search for forms that begs the rethinking of the world around us. His unique style has often been noted for the way it depicts an existing reality with a peculiar colour palette and subtlety and care for the perception of nature.
Words by: Karine Bagdasarova
Ronald Kleijer was born in the Netherlands and studied drawing and painting at The Hague Royal Academy of Art. He first came to Uzbekistan in 1994 as a student, and the country made such a lasting impression on him that he decided to return to Uzbekistan full time after he earned his degree.
Kleijer was especially taken with the writings of the famous traveller Marco Polo about the friendliness and tolerance of the inhabitants of Maverannahr (an ancient name the Arabs gave to Uzbekistan and much of modern-day Central Asia). The centuries may have changed many aspects of Uzbekistan since Marco Polo’s time, but Kleijer found that the remarkable qualities of its people are still the same.
As a young artist, Kleijer gravitated toward abstract art, both during his studies and after graduation from the Royal Academy. Admiring the great Dutch painters — Rembrandt, van Dyck, Vermeer — he sought to bring this mastery of realism to his own style of painting. After visiting and eventually moving to Uzbekistan, he became enamoured of the country’s landscapes and found that the natural world could also be depicted in a realistic yet contemporary way.
Today, Kleijer works extensively and productively. His paintings are characterised by a noble simplicity behind which lies deep, thoughtful spirituality. He prefers to avoid theoretical discussions of painting and does not limit himself to the various "isms" of art. Kleijer’s work synthesises his background in a European school of painting with a number of Eastern artistic traditions. He pays special attention to themes relating to the environment, such as the tragedy of the vanishing Aral Sea and the preservation of nature.
Kleijer is an active member of Uzbekistan’s art scene, holding numerous exhibitions both here and abroad. His first three solo exhibitions were held in the Netherlands, and in 1999, his works were displayed at the exhibition hall of the Royal Academy of Arts.
Today, his paintings can be seen in the State Art Museum of Uzbekistan, the NBU Gallery in Tashkent, the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow and the National Art Museum in Almaty, as well as in private collections in the United States, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. Kleijer lives in Tashkent with his wife, Galina, who works as his promotions manager.
In October 2021, Kleijer was awarded the Order of Amir Temur medal for strengthening Uzbekistan's cultural ties with foreign countries. The award recognises the artist's contribution to building mutual cross-cultural understanding despite geographical and socio-cultural differences. A showing of Kleijer’s works dedicated to this theme was also held in Tashkent’s Ilkhom Theatre.
Ronald Kleijer is constantly looking for new forms with which to realise his ideas. Previously his work was dominated by landscapes and still life, but more recently, he has turned to portraiture and plans to create a series of 1001 paintings. Several works have already been painted representing people of many different ages, social statuses and nationalities. Each is unique and individual but rendered with Kleijer’s characteristic features. Though each painting depicts a person and reflects that individual’s accumulated experience, viewing the portraits altogether, you realise that all of them are people. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said in his landmark work Land of Men, we humans all belong to Planet Earth (“nous sommes tous de la Terre des hommes”) and we are all linked by a common fate.
Discover more about Ronal Kleijer at his website www.ronaldkleijer.nl and follow him on Instagram @ronaldkleijer__official.
