biography

Born in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in September 1945, Jos Kivits (christened Jozef Wilhelmus Henrikus Cornelius Kivits) was the youngest of five children. He is a descendant of a well-established Dutch family, the roots of which can be traced back to the early thirteenth century. His immediate family have been recognized as successful merchants dating back to the early 1800’s.

Despite early leanings towards becoming an industrial chemist, architectural draughtsman, textile merchant, even a brief desire to enter into theology, art was his siren call. Jos simply could not stay away from it. Having shown an early interest in the subject he took serious lessons from the age of ten and completed his first oil painting at age 12.

A student at the Dutch “Kunstnijverheid” school in Eindhoven in the 1960’s Jos continued his “in depth” studies in the 1970’s and 1980’s under the tutelage of the renowned living Dutch artist Cornelius Le Mair. This association lead to Jos receiving the highly coveted diploma of “Master Artist – Still Life” from the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium in 1989. The collaboration continued with visits by Cornelius Le Mair to the artist’s studios in New Zealand and Sydney.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s Jos researched the techniques used and perfected by the Dutch Old Masters. A long forgotten technique originally developed by the Eyck brothers in the 15th century involves the application of successive oil glaze layers between layers of paint. This gives incredible depth to the finished work. An arduous, not to mention hazardous, technique, Jos uses this painting style to perfection in many of his still life paintings. During this very time consuming process the artist completely repaints a scene four, five or even six times. It is because of this that Jos’ annual output of his sumptuously detailed paintings is very limited.

In search of warmer climes Jos moved from his native country to New Zealand in 1973. Then in 1986 along with is wife Lydia and their four children (Lissy, Joshua, Yahdah and Samuel) he moved to Sydney to settle.

A lifetime of training, study, experience and the creation of exquisite masterpieces has earned Jos an enviable international reputation. His work is much sought after and in demand, hanging in public and private collections in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, North and South America, the United Kingdom, several European countries and South Africa.