Maurice Braspenning (1968) was born in Rotterdam, works and lives in Zoeterwoude. He was educated at the Rijksakademie of visual arts and the Rietveld Academy, both in Amsterdam. His teachers at the Rijksakademie included Luc Tuymans, Bernard Frize and Emo Verkerk. They motivated him to show his own world.

‘Beginning 2018 I got ill, (virus in my brain). A long period of recovery took me for walks in nature thinking about my life and work. Strange enough the illness was a liberation for me. You come to the core of what you really have to do. And I wanted color, space and energy. Nature is the driving force behind everything and became the source of inspiration for my work. By being in nature and watching and experiencing a lot, I save what attracts my attention. These are, for example, leaf structures. Or the moving space created by waving reeds. But above all, the creating energy source that is nature.
When I arrive in my studio I convert this into a painting, and concentrate on how to create space on a flat surface. I have to trust in myself, let go of everything and respond to what arises.’