JAS (1945) is a leading abstract painter from the Netherlands. JAS was born as Johannes Adriaan Smit in Hillegom, in the heart of the Dutch flower bulb region. For a couple of months, every year, this region explodes in an abundance of bright colors, creating a magical landscape that has appealed to travellers for centuries. It is this exhilirating natural phenomenon that continues to inspire the artist.

Portrait of Jas by 9 year-old Rushka, a young admiror

As a young boy, JAS' destiny seemed to be a life of labor in the bulb fields, like his parents. But JAS had a striking talent for drawing. He was 15 when he entered a museum for the first time in his life, to meet Van Gogh, Rembrandt and the other great masters of the past. At that point he knew that he had to paint.

In his early years as a painter, JAS travelled extensively. For several months he stayed in New York, to study and work with one of his great examples, Willem de Kooning. He also lived in Sweden. He now lives in Belgium, near Antwerp.

JAS' paintings are typically large canvases built up in several layers, using charcoal, and oil paint. The paint is applied knives and brushes, working wet-in-wet, to achieve a total image of strong movement and subtle shades of color.

Jas is reperesented by galleries in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark, Italy and the USA.