Justus Donker (XX) - Na de Ronde

Original work by Justus Donker
Mixed media on canvas

Hand-signed on the front.

After the Round depicts the moment of silence after the fight. A boxer withdraws into a wild, colorful environment. The raw brushstrokes and contrasting lines reinforce the sense of vulnerability, strength and recovery. A work about resilience — and about what happens when the fight is over for a moment.


Donker became known in the early 1990s as a member of the group After Nature, of which he was part from 1989 until its dissolution in 1995. Other members of the group were Peter Klashorst, Jurriaan van Hall, Bart Domburg and Ernst Voss. The first exhibition of After Nature with Donker took place in 1990 at Seasons Galerie in The Hague. In the years that followed, members of this group visited the United States several times to participate in exhibitions and painting performances.
With his fellow-painting brothers Gijs Donker (1964) and Aad Donker (1967-1998), who were also members of After Nature, he became known as one of 'the Donker brothers' or 'the Donker brothers'. After the death of his brother Aad, Donker stopped painting for several years and moved to Wehe-den Hoorn in the province of Groningen. In 2009 he moved back to Leiden, where he grew up.