Piet Pijn: from beach light to underwater mystery

In Piet Pijn’s work, the sea is never one blue background. His 1980s beach scenes use bright colour and forceful shapes to study light, sand, water and human proximity. In the 1990s, he seems to move below the surface, allowing deep colours, floating forms and freer composition to push figuration toward abstraction. Zee In-Zicht places those phases together at Pulchri Studio for the Den Haag-born artist’s centenary, showing how one subject can change visual language across a decade. The exhibition is free, open Tuesday–Sunday from 12:00–17:00 and ends on 2 August. It suits anyone willing to place an hour of art before a coast day. No reservation is needed, but the final week requires arriving with enough time before Pulchri closes.

• Piet Pijn was born in Den Haag in 1926, studied at KABK and worked across drawing, painting, sculpture and teaching.
• From 1963 he taught at Academie Minerva in Groningen and contributed to the development of Northern Realism.
• The 1980s works begin with beach light, colour and movement; the 1990s shift into underwater space and deep floating forms.
• Admission is free with no ticket barrier, but the exhibition ends 2 August and is closed Monday.

Hokimi field note: View the beach works before the underwater works to notice colour moving from sunlight into depth; do not let canvas size dictate the order.