Douwe Elias
Exhibition Humanoids
13-06-2026 -31-08-2026
Avondmaal, 2008, 150x100.
Theepot met zelfportret, 2025, 50x50cm.
IJs, 2025, 20x40.
Douwe Elias – Humanoids
In his paintings, Douwe Elias brings everyday and intimate scenes to life with an intense, almost tangible presence. The monumental The Last Supper depicts a group of elderly people gathered around a table, captured in a fragile moment of togetherness. Above them float enigmatic forms of light, introducing a subtle sense of estrangement into an otherwise deeply human setting. The vulnerability of the bodies, the concentrated gazes, and the heavy, material quality of the paint lend the scene a profound sense of depth: a contemporary echo of ancient rituals surrounding food, connection, and mortality.
The smaller works Ice Cream and Painter in a Teapot further develop this approach. While the ice cream radiates an almost sensual, fleeting temptation, the teapot transforms an ordinary household object into something with an almost living presence through the dramatic use of light and its dark background. Elias paints with a direct, expressive hand that allows the materiality of paint to speak for itself—thick, lustrous, and at times raw.
His work balances between recognition and estrangement, warmth and an underlying melancholy. Elias gives voice to the human condition in all its awkward, tender, and occasionally absurd beauty. His is a distinctly contemporary way of seeing, allowing the ordinary to resonate with something greater, without ever fully explaining it.
This exhibition marks the opening of the gallery and invites us to encounter the human—the humanoid—in all of its complex, contemporary layers.
BIOGRAPHY
Douwe Elias was born in Leeuwarden in 1952. Since 1985, he has lived and worked in Franeker. Between 1974 and 1979, he studied at Minerva Academy in Groningen, where he was taught by Matthijs Röling and Jouke Wouda.
Elias is known for his paintings of café and restaurant interiors, in which old-world grandeur and faded glory take centre stage. He also draws on memories from his childhood, including the children with intellectual disabilities—many of them with Down syndrome—who attended the school for Special Primary Education where his father taught. Their world has continued to fascinate and move him, and remains a recurring source of inspiration in his work.
CV
OPLEIDING
1974 – 1979 Academie Minerva, Groningen
SOLOTENTOONSTELLINGEN (EEN SELECTIE)
2014 - Galerie Mokum, Amsterdam
2017 - Galerie Mokum, Amsterdam
2019 - Galerie Mokum, Amsterdam
2020 - Galerie Mokum, Amsterdam Solotentoonstelling
2023 - Galerie Mokum, Amsterdam 27 mei – 24 juni
DUO- EN GROEPSTENTOONSTELLINGEN (EEN SELECTIE)
1999 - 2e Onafhankelijke Realisten Tentoonstelling Museum Møhlmann, Appingedam
2000 - 3e Onafhankelijke Realisten Tentoonstelling Museum Møhlmann, Appingedam
2012 - 14e Onafhankelijke Realisten Tentoonstelling Museum Møhlmann, Appingedam
2014 - Zutphen Mooi Oud Groepstentoonstelling met kunstenaars van Galerie Mokum
2019 - Langs Rembrandt Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
2022 - Vier Evangelisten Grote of Jacobijnerkerk, Leeuwarden met Oesje Zegel
2023 - Uniek en niet te vergelijken? Galerie Autrevue, Heerenveen met Simon Pasini
2023 - Land, Wad en Zee Galerie Autrevue, Heerenveen
2025 - Gen F – 75 jaar figuratieve kunst Drents Museum, Assen
2025 - Droomreizen Galerie Autrevue, Heerenveen
KUNSTBEURZEN (EEN SELECTIE)
PAN Amsterdam Diverse edities via Galerie Mokum
COLLECTIES (EEN SELECTIE)
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden. Drents Museum, Assen. Museum Møhlmann, Appingedam.
Tresoar, Leeuwarden. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. ING Collectie. Nationale Nederlanden. Achmea Kunstcollectie. FBTO Kunstcollectie. NUON. Unilever. Loyens & Loeff.
Diverse particuliere collecties in binnen- en buitenland
PRIJZEN EN ONDERSCHEIDINGEN
Genomineerd voor Kunstenaar van het Jaar (meerdere edities)
OPDRACHTEN (EEN SELECTIE)
2024 - Portretopdracht voor Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen Portret van prof. dr. Paul Bovend’Eert
WERK IN MUSEALE CONTEXT
2014 - Werk opgenomen in museale presentaties van Galerie Mokum - kunstenaars
2019 - Rijksmuseum-project ‘Lang leve Rembrandt’
2025 - Deelname aan ‘Gen F – 75 jaar figuratieve kunst’ Drents Museum, Assen