Quick scan for the busy ones below –> no I want to read it all
You’re not looking for decoration.
You need a story an effect. an experience.
ROB VAN DER LEI
Born on a Ship · Dutch artist · between Spain, Germany and the Netherlands · working internationally
ART THAT REVEALS MORE
Rob van der Lei creates original artworks around perception, light, Pareidolia, discovery and movement.
At first glance, you see one thing.
Look again — and something else appears.
His Kringels begin as spontaneous lines. Faces, creatures and unexpected worlds emerge from them.
His Reflection Paintings go one step further: the artwork changes as the viewer moves, the light changes, or even the colour of their clothing changes what is reflected.
The viewer doesn’t just look at the artwork.
The viewer becomes part of it.
His De_Light light sculptures, on or off, replica’s that delight.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR YOUR PROJECT
A conversation starter.
Art people talk about — rather than simply walk past.
A distinctive signature.
Work created specifically for a space, concept or client, yet unique in style and effect.
A reason to look twice.
The unexpected becomes part of the experience.
Made for the project.
Existing works, series, commissions and site-specific concepts, intuitively tailored.
WHERE IT CAN WORK
HOTELS · HOSPITALITY · YACHTS · INTERIORS · ARCHITECTURE · PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
From one exceptional statement piece to a complete series or integrated art concept.
THE QUESTION ISN’T:
“Does this fit the wall?”
IT’S:
“What could happen here if the artwork became part of the experience?”
YOU’RE LOOKING FOR ART.
But probably not just something to fill a wall.
You’re looking for something that works with the space.
Something distinctive enough to give a project character.
Something a client hasn’t already seen a hundred times.
Something that can become part of the concept.
That’s where Rob van der Lei’s work gets interesting.
ROB VAN DER LEI
Dutch artist · Born on a Ship · between Spain, Germany and the Netherlands · working internationally
Rob van der Lei creates original artworks around one simple idea:
THE DELIGHT OF DISCOVERY.
His work includes Kringels (Intuitive Pareidolia drawings), Reflection-paintings, Paintings that reflect and interact with light, light sculptures, Dreamstarters, that trigger you to explore further.
It can be recognised immediately.
But it doesn’t give everything away.
And that is deliberate.
HE DOESN’T START WITH WHAT HE WANTS TO CREATE.
HE STARTS CREATING.
Then he sees what appears.
His signature Kringels begin as spontaneous lines — a curl, a scratch, a scribble.
He follows them.
A face might appear.
A creature.
A character.
An entire little world.
Sometimes something he never intended to draw.
This instinct goes back to Rob’s childhood. When he didn’t know what to draw, he would simply make a mark and look at what was hiding inside it.
Today, that instinct has become part of his artistic language.
The work invites the viewer to do the same.
To look.
To interpret.
To discover.
And because everyone brings their own imagination to it, two people can stand in front of the same work and see something completely different.
THAT ISN’T A SIDE EFFECT OF THE ART.
THAT IS THE ART.
THEN THE ART STARTS MOVING.
Rob’s Reflection Paintings take the idea of discovery into the physical space.
Reflective and iridescent surfaces interact with light, movement and perspective.
Move.
The work changes.
Change the light.
It changes again.
Even the colour of the viewer’s clothing can influence what appears on the surface.
THE ARTWORK CHANGES BECAUSE YOU DO.
That makes the work particularly interesting in environments where people move through a space rather than simply sit in front of a painting.
A hotel lobby.
A restaurant.
A yacht.
A private residence.
A gallery or architectural space.
The artwork can become something people experience rather than simply something they see.
WHAT CAN ROB MAKE FOR YOUR PROJECT?
KRINGELS
Intuitive drawings in which unexpected figures, faces and worlds emerge from spontaneous lines.
Personal. Playful. Intriguing.
REFLECTION PAINTINGS
Paintings using reflection, light, colour and perspective to create an artwork that changes with the viewer.
Dynamic. Atmospheric. Impossible to capture completely in one photograph.
DE_LIGHT
Light sculptures combining handmade materials, gold leaf, silk paper, metal wire and LED light.
Sculpture, light and atmosphere in one object.
LARGE WORKS & SERIES
For spaces that need presence — from a single statement piece to a coherent visual language across an entire project.
COMMISSIONS
A work developed around a particular client, space, story or concept.
SITE-SPECIFIC WORK
When the artwork should not simply fit the space.
When it should belong to it.
WHY THIS WORKS FOR ART PROFESSIONALS
Finding a beautiful artwork isn’t necessarily difficult.
Finding the right artwork for the right project is.
An Art Professional needs to be able to answer questions like:
Will it make the project more distinctive?
Will the client remember it?
Can it work at the scale we need?
Can the artist develop something specifically for us?
Can we tell a story around it?
Will it still be interesting after the first impression?
That is where Rob can work with the professional, rather than simply supply a finished object.
FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS
The right artwork can change or compliment a roomdesign.
Rob’s work adds another possibility:
IT CAN MAKE PEOPLE LOOK TWICE.
A focal point.
A conversation starter.
A surprising detail.
Or something that quietly reveals itself as people move through the space.
And because the work isn’t based on a rigid visual formula, it can be developed around the character of the interior rather than forced into it.
FOR ARCHITECTS
Art can be added to architecture.
Or it can be considered as part of the architecture from the beginning.
Scale, light, movement, sightlines and the experience of the visitor can all become part of the conversation.
That opens possibilities for:
integrated artworks · large-scale works · site-specific pieces · light-based installations · visual concepts across multiple spaces
FOR HOSPITALITY & YACHT PROJECTS
In hospitality, people remember experiences.
Not every detail.
Rob’s work can become one of those details they remember.
Something they photograph.
Something they ask about.
Something they notice differently the second time they pass it.
For hotels, resorts, restaurants, lounges and yachts, that ability to create curiosity and interaction can be more valuable than simply matching a colour palette.
FOR ART CONSULTANTS
An art consultant doesn’t need another artist who simply sends a catalogue.
The real value is an artist who can think alongside the consultant and respond to a project.
Rob can collaborate on:
SELECTION
Choosing existing works for a particular environment.
SCALE
Developing the right visual impact for the available space.
SERIES
Creating a coherent group rather than a collection of unrelated pieces.
COMMISSIONS
Developing something specifically for a client or project, like a memorial painting.
CONCEPT
Starting with the architectural, interior or hospitality brief and developing the artwork from there.
COLLABORATION
Exploring what becomes possible when artist and designer influence each other’s thinking.
FOR COLLECTORS
Rob’s work isn’t designed to give one fixed answer.
A face seen today may become something else tomorrow.
A reflection changes.
A detail that wasn’t noticed suddenly becomes obvious.
The longer someone lives with the work, the more there is to discover.
THE ART DOESN’T GIVE YOU THE ANSWER.
IT GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO DISCOVER.
ORIGINAL WORK.
Every piece is an original artwork.
Not a decorative reproduction of an established formula.
The work develops through an intuitive process — and commissions allow that process to respond to a particular place, person or idea.
That means a project can have something that could not simply have been ordered from a catalogue.
THE WORK CAN TRAVEL.
Rob’s practice is based in Spain, but the work isn’t tied to one place.
His work has already moved beyond the studio, including work connected with the Museo de Vejer in Vejer de la Frontera in Spain and an artistic collaboration with a Singapore-based artist.
Different places.
Different contexts.
Different people.
But always the same starting point:
CURIOSITY.
SO, WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR?
Perhaps it’s a painting.
Perhaps it’s a sculpture.
Perhaps it’s a series.
Perhaps it’s something that doesn’t exist yet.
The Art Professional doesn’t need to know exactly what it is before getting in touch.
Give Rob the space.
The project.
The problem.
The idea.
The artwork can be discovered from there.
ONE LAST QUESTION.
You came here looking for art.