Through movement, gesture, rhythm and repetition, this artist creates a poetically weightless world in his spatial installations and paintings. Using earthy textiles, sewing, drawing, and etching techniques, he knows to connect with the elusiveness of light, air, and space subtly and abstractly. The gravity disappears, and as a spectator, it feels like being lifted for a moment. All of this is an intriguing experience. We see the versatility and drive of this artist as a significant source for his further development.

“Abstraction is what gives Verheul the latitude to explore the grey area between gesture and gravity (understood by physics as: the universal force of attraction acting between all matter). His practice finds a way to approach and convey form through materiality - with this notion of form regarded as a dynamic entity. Weight and speed describe the type of rhythm and composition sought after by the artist, as he works through canvases, textiles and fabrics. His method includes natural processes: soaking, staining and wrinkling allow him to embrace chance, expanding the possibilities inherent in mark-making.

A mark is the trace of movement, and Verheul delves into the material aspect of gestures. They are the traces of the perceivable memory of both deliberate and accidental acts. What emerges is a loose writing, unmistakable in its intention, yet freed by conventionality. Verheul pulls together weaving and writing; two natures already associated by their flows and inherent gaps - those unavoidable intervals of the trace-leaving process. Yet, what really calls for attention in Verheul’s work are the tensions that run silent: sometimes found in the material exertion of forces, other times a feature of his tracing. despite its flow, the tracing imparts a ‘hesitation of the edge’ - the anticipation of an abrupt and sharp break within.”

Text by Elisabetta Cuccaro, artist, curator and writer based in Milan:

Line: traverses the edge between the idea of form, and the presence of these forms in the world; a boundary between areas and simultaneously a connector - a bridge. The line itself becomes a space between one quality and another. In an experimental exhibition at RE:Search:Gallery, Groningen-based artist Paul Verheul presents Bind.Divide, in which he uses line predominantly in the form of rope and yarn to create tactile environments. The work extends a vibrant contradiction, the structures appear solid yet are in reality unerringly delicate and flexible. The artist is also a painter, and questions traditional notions of painting, dividing the surface while accentuating qualities such as transparency and lightness. Notions of weaving and writing are explored; trace-leaving actions with inherent flows and pauses: a rhythmic movement of touching the surface leaving a mark, and lifting - forming a pattern of presence and absence.

For the artist the allure of fibre based craft (weaving, lacemaking, rope making, net making) is not only making an object, but also recording and conveying movement. Line becomes representative of journey, twisted, knotted, woven together into surfaces in which the original threads now figure as traces, yielded to the regular pattern formed by their entwining.

https://jegensentevens.nl/2023/08/stille-klanken-klinken-langs-draden-van-paul-verheul/

This installation explores the natural and constructed rhythms of land and architecture, through a type of spatial drawing. This work is the artist's response to the experience of having lived here for the past three months, and also refers to historical changes in the region.

“I am drawn towards the history of this land. Centuries ago the sea defined a rhythm of life for the communities living here. As the sea tide came in, people would retreat to higher ground, finding refuge on the 'terp'. As the tide receded, they would return to their homes and work places, continuing on with their rhythm of life. Nature, in continual unpredictable flux, journeyed alongside resilient communities, forging a delicate bond between humanity and the environment.

Since then, the land has been claimed from the sea. I am reminded of the Genesis story; out of nothingness and chaos comes beauty and order. Not a rigid order, but a finely crafted rhythm of day and night. This is like the order in a beautiful symphony orchestra; carefully arranged parts working together to form a swelling sound, or like the delicate order found in a finely constructed leaf. Although the sea has receded behind man-made dykes, its presence lingers – out of sight but not out of mind, shaping our perceptions and reminding us of our vulnerability.

The flatness of the reclaimed land amplifies the vastness of the sky. Recently I learnt that there are fewer trees in this area because local residents so appreciate this expansive view. Every so often, a shape will pierce through this horizon line, perhaps a tower, but more commonly a church, built on the highest ground of the 'terp'. For centuries, time was not measured by the ticking of a watch but by the resonant tolling of the church bell, marking the cadence of work and rest, day and night. My own connection to this was recently personally underscored by a pocket watch passed down from my great grandfather, Meindert Groeneveld.

In this work I respond to interwoven narratives between environment and human intervention, and I also respond to having lived here in the present over the last few months. I mark changes - from dark to light, from winter to summer, this becomes a way of recording/encoding my experience of being here. The work itself changes as you move around it, beginning as an image that you can look at and becoming immersive as you move beneath it or to the side of it.”

Cathedral is a textile and architectural intervention set within nature—an invitation to stillness, reflection, and a renewed perspective on the surrounding environment. Composed of fine threads, the semi-transparent structure appears as a drawing in space, shifting with light and movement. Inspired by stained glass windows—once used to convey stories and truths through colour and form—this installation evokes similar moments of contemplation, its image evolving with the sun’s rise and fall.

Unlike traditional cathedrals built from enduring materials like stone and glass, this structure is temporary and responsive, monumental in scale yet delicate in presence. It stands not to dominate the landscape, but to harmonize with it—offering a rhythm of light and reflection. Cathedral creates a space where nature, structure, and the wandering visitor meet—each influencing the experience of the other.