Hennie Huijgens

Alongside my work as an artist, I’ve been active for many years as a scientific researcher and organisational consultant. I earned my PhD in computer science from TU Delft. I therefore also like to approach my art projects in a professional, research-oriented way, studying a question from different perspectives through triangulation. I like to call myself a ‘researching artist’.

"I love paint and colour"

I’m a visual artist with a passion for the material side of painting: I love paint, colour, and getting stuck into canvases and mediums. I enjoy working on large-format linen canvases and usually use acrylics, experimenting with all kinds of mediums and gels to create effects such as glazing, gloss, transparency and thick textures. My inspirations in modern and contemporary art include the “real painting heroes” of Abstract Expressionism, such as Willem de Kooning, Karel Appel and Mark Rothko. I also love the more figurative Flemish post-expressionist Roger Raveel and the English painter David Hockney. More recently, I’ve found inspiration in the work of Marlene Dumas and Matthew Wong, and in Nan Goldin’s idea of art as an immersive concept that brings together different disciplines, including slide shows, music, voice-overs and archival material.