Arjan van Helmond
I think that’s because there’s a narrative stratum to my work, which is something I do deliberately strive for. I try to make the image a moment that perhaps seems quite normal yet contains some unusualness within it. Surely, that does presage some sort of human activity. Actual people are never present, but there are lots of human actions, or tokens of them.
Arjan van Helmond via Metropolis M, 2006
Arjan van Helmond (1971, the Netherlands) paints on paper using gouache or acrylic paint. He paints everyday things: a house, an interior, a lamp, or a crack in the wall. These are explorations of empty spaces and of the ostensibly random subjects found in such spaces. Van Helmond is concerned with the quality of look and of feeling that can be associated with such subjects. Often, Van Helmond’s work takes on a filmic character. It is up to the viewer to piece together the story, or as it were to step into the scene.
