Since 2001, the Dutch art Galerie “De Herkenning” (the Recognition), has represented the works of Eric Jiani. From his first exhibition with them his paintings have found their way to collectors around the Netherlands. People love the extraordinary way Eric goes into detail, his use of colour and the atmosphere of his paintings. His landscapes are the kind you want to explore and the people he draws are pleasant to meet, they look friendly.

 

In 2006, the gallery owners, Willy Bosga and Peter van Wijk, introduced Eric’s work at the famous “Holland Artfair” in the Hague and also at the first Edinburgh Art Fair in Scotland. In both art fairs, Eric’s work was well received and he had good sales.

 

Since then, Eric’s work has been shown at several other important art fairs, like the ITAF and the Affordable Art Fair in Amsterdam, the second Edinburgh Art Fair and at the Cambridgeshire Art Fair. His drawings, exclusively distributed and exhibited by Galerie “De Herkenning”, have found their way to many homes in the Netherlands,Germany and the UK.

 

Galerie “De Herkenning”, March 2008

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...Do not go to this exhibition expecting the usual array of drawings of potted plants and watercolours of sunsets. These works have a strange and haunting
quality, which demand a great deal from the viewer. They are extremely detailed and skilfully drawn. Some are urban scenes peopled by characters from those moments between waking and sleeping, half disturbing and half friendly... A man of many talents, Jiani entertained those at his private view with a short recital of guitar music...

Press Release, Instant Muscle, October 1990

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There's some startling stuff at Artspace, Parkshot, till May 12th where Eric Jiani
returns with more of his extraordinary studies of metropolitan decay and human
degeneration in pen and ink with pale blue and pink washes...

Richmond and Twickenham Times, May 11 1990 - Robert Harris

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...Eric Jiani is completely self-taught and has been working as a professional artist for more than 10 years. His work consists of pen and ink drawings, done on paper occasionally with a touch of watercolour. They are highly detailed, depicting a unique world inhabited by strange creatures and full of dark encounters. His pictures often feature people he has met throughout the various stages of his inner development as an artist.

The Brazilian Gazette, August 1988

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The works by Eric Jiani in pen and watercolour now on show at Artspace, Parkshot are some of the most extraordinary to be seen locally for as long as I can remember....Richard Dadd and Hieronymous Bosch come to mind, not only in the subjects,
straight out of the unconscious mind, but in the technique which easily accomodates these fantasies...

Richmond and Twickenham Times, May 27 1988 - Robert Harris

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...all these internal experiences are enriched by a visual vocabulary and transformed through personal anxiety or through poetry into moving works of art... Through his art,
life became meaningful and people became interesting; even little things assumed a dramatic proportion. He is like a hierophant and his art is a sort of temple open to anyone willing to share his artistic experiences.

Veja, May 12th 1982 - Casimiro Xavier de Mendonça

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Everyone in São Paulo is talking about the critical and artistic success of Eric Jiani's first exhibit in São Paulo, held at the Galeria Grifo last month. Eric's
"art brut" or unsophisticated, unschooled art received waves of praise from Brazil's major art critics. His drawings were completely sold out and numbers of people are interested in obtaining more..... A great poem cannot be classified, but its impact is direct and sharp. Eric Jiani's art defies classification but its impact is unmistakable.
Brazil Herald, June 22 1982 - On View At The Local Galleries - Sol Biderman