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Edrich Blaauw undefined
Edrich Blaauw (February 3, 1961 - November 29, 1994) was a Belgian painter predominantly influenced by the abstract expressionist movement of the early to mid-twentieth century. In Belgium this movement is often referred to as abstract modernism.

He held the same belief as Paul Cézanne about the harmony of art and nature and always painted outdoors, leading to many of his efforts being destroyed due to the unpredictable weather in his native Belgium. It is believed that only a handful of his paintings were ever finished because of this. Whilst he only started painting in his early twenties, his style was massively influenced by his mother's love of famous American artist, Jackson Pollock. Later he spent much of his time studying the works of Frank Stella, Johannes Itten, Maurice Wyckaert and Robert Motherwell amongst others. While many critics claimed that abstract expressionism was dead by the time he started painting, others believed that Blaauw had struck the fine balance so many other abstract expressionists failed to achieve, that of being able to be more accessible to a wider audience. Because of the accessibility of his art, some of his peers accused him of selling out.

A private collector befriended Blaauw shortly before he left Antwerp in 1992. He bought all six of Blaauw's unsold completed paintings. All six these paintings were destroyed in the Switel Hotel fire on New Year's Eve 1994 in Antwerp, Belgium. It is uncertain how many paintings were sold by Blaauw before his encounter with the private collector, but it is thought to be no more than three or four.

Blaauw's occupation was that of a carpenter and fisherman. He initially worked in Brecht and later in his hometown of Antwerp before traveling across Europe as a fisherman. He suffered from a mild form of Muscular dystrophy which was not diagnosed until shortly before his disappearance. He was also thought to have suffered from Bipolar disorder although this was never diagnosed.

Blaauw was born to a Belgian father and Turkish mother who separated shortly after his birth. He was raised by his mother and only occasionally saw his father who traveled around Belgium as a salesman. His father broke all contact with Edrich at the age of ten. His mother died of Septicemia when he was 15. He was homeless for three years, living in forests and parks in and around Antwerp. At age 18 he got a job as a carpenter's apprentice in Brecht, Belgium. He worked there for two years until the owner of the business he worked for died. He moved back to Antwerp and started working on boats, initially as a carpenter and later as a fisherman. This remained his main occupation for the rest of his life.

Though his mother's love for Jackson Pollock had made a big impression on him as a boy, he had never tried to paint until he was asked to help paint a fishing boat. This inspired him, and he would often retreat to nearby forests on his days off to paint and study famous painters. Initially he painted on discarded newspapers, but later on anything from canvas to hide. He was fired from a number of jobs because he would become so immersed in his painting that quite often days would pass without him noticing.

He grew restless in Antwerp and decided to give up both the city and painting on his 31st birthday as he felt he has gone as far with both as he possibly could. Days before he left Antwerp he had a chance meeting with an art collector whilst out drinking. The collector convinced Blaauw to show him his paintings and went on to buy all his unsold works. After this transaction, Blaauw used the money to first travel to the South of France and later to his mother's native Turkey. He remained in Istanbul until his disappearance.

On the night of 29 November 1993, Blaauw and a friend took a small boat out on the Black Sea. They were drinking heavily and their vessel capsized not far from the coast. While his friend made it to shore, Blaauw did not. It is thought that he drowned although his body was never found.