Sunday, March 09, 2008

Hendrik Kerstens: The distant view of the other


Hendrik Kerstens is one of those artists who have managed to develop a career seemingly concentrating on one subject throughout the years. In his case, the model has been his daughter Paula. How different is she as a subject because of being his daughter? Not very. Which is as powerful a revelation as any. After all, one would expect some closeness, some special insight. Nothing of the sort. What we get is a serious young lady, as serious now as she was on the pictures being only a few years old. A gaze that refuses to talk. Our only partner in dialogue seems to be the light that paints the face gently, yet at least on surface, without the love one would expect. We see all the Vermeers and other 17th-century Flemish painters participate in this creation, yet this, here, is darker, less inviting. It doesn't pretend that something can come out of this encounter. Nothing more than a picture, a gaze, a world that is forever there, for us to admire, but not to discover.

23 comments:

papabear said...

your work is heart stopping... you use a contrast that intriuges the retina... where do you shot at? im in aspiring photographer myself and am always looking for ways to expand my mind. i'd love to hear some feed back if you dont mind... my email is underyourwing@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

baggy head

Anonymous said...

Wow, beautiful phots! Luv the contrast and pensive feeling in each shot!

Hubert Hamot said...

Bonjour,
Je suis auteur d'un blog et je suis disposé à un échange de lien avec le votre.
Mon blog est Numartis.fr
Amicalement,

Hubert Hamot
http://www.numartis.fr

Hannah said...

leaves me with a lot to think about...

Anonymous said...

I like this, is making some kind of statement like - today's religion is plastic or religion in a plastic age, or what, I don't know, but I like it.

Chad said...

That's fantastic. I love it.

chook said...

Love your site, you seem to have a very deep well of knowledge and the ability to document it.
Keep it up

Anonymous said...

Really interesting! I've added you to my blog roll, because I like your subject matter so much.

Anonymous said...

I like it

Beverly Kaye said...

Plastic bag and perhaps reluctant daughter = a Vermeer with a recycling message and great lighting? I love it!

Anonymous said...

her head gear... it's looks like a white.. plastic bag, am i right!?

escaperoute2 said...

That's amazing!

Anonymous said...

Kerstens is truely a painter...wiht his camera...

Anonymous said...

And for people, who are interested, here is Hendriks homepage, lots of photos: http://www.hendrikkerstens.com/

sonatspi said...

Reminiscent of work by Cindy Sherman. I'll be looking at Cindy Sherman's work tomorrow. Check it out at: http://artworldonline.blogspot.com

Nice take on elevating the position of ordinary objects into works of art (i.e. the plastic bag). Will keep an eye out for future work from this artist.

sonatspi said...

Reminiscent of work by Cindy Sherman. I'll be looking at Cindy Sherman's work tomorrow. Check it out at: http://artworldonline.blogspot.com

Nice take on elevating the position of ordinary objects into works of art (i.e. the plastic bag). Will keep an eye out for future work from this artist.

Fabián Bautista said...

Hi, congratulations for this blog, it's really good and illustrative. Cheers from Mexico!

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Vraiment sympa. Je ne connaissais pas.

Anonymous said...

Vermeer isn't Belgian though.
Born and died in Delft, The Netherlands

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Anita said...

very nice art

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