Janpeter Muilwijk’s paintings exude a magical optimism that epitomises the Edenic paradise. Eve arrives joyful in the garden of Eden before a tree full of cherries; Adam swims in primeval waters amidst sea creatures and verdant plants. Naked and unabashed, his figures are described as if the midst of creation, and look out at us in uncomplicated joy, pictures of innocence in their native habitat. Fauna and flora bloom around them like a divine template of beauty illuminating the experience. In Janpeter’s work, Paradise is both our origin and our end, something we each carry within us. Their optimism serves to dispel the harshness of reality and guide us back to our destination.
