Hendrik Kerstens

Portrait of a Lady

INTERVIEW WITH HENDRIK KERSTENS

Striking, inspiring and all with an underlying message is the best way to describe the work of Dutch photographer, Hendrik Kerstens. His portraits look somewhat familiar and somehow induce you to ask; is it a Vermeer? A Christus? A van Eyck? The subject of his work is his daughter, Paula, who is often portrayed as a pale but dignified young woman whose face emerges in profile from a deep shadow, dressed in the traditional Dutch Golden Age attire. Kerstens' work does not just imitate the work of leading Dutch masters' paintings. His work is a game of conceptual and humorous dialog between past and present. Conceptually, Kerstens' photographs play with the dialog between the mediums of painting and photography, with seriality, and time. On a more emotional level, they address everyday reality while expressing his love for his child, and the knowledge and development of his craft. Hendrik shared with Atelier the essence of his work and style, the reason behind his focus on Dutch painters of the 17th Century and what's next for him.

You have recently defined, "our modern-day Dutch master." To what extent do you agree?

For me it is important that my artworks emerge from deep within me. In some way they are intertwined with my Dutch DNA. From this perspective, it is very honorable if someone calls you a “modern-day Dutch master”. I also try to absorb and renew Northern European artistic traditions within my work. I want to stay away from mimicry, because for me making art is about recreating and reinterpreting multiple visual cultures. That is why I try to contextualize and understand images of Netherlandish paintings throughout my oeuvre.

It seems that initially your photographs were created out of a genuine desire to capture your daughter's fleeting childhood. How did things develop?

I did not formally train as an artist, but at the age of forty I took up photography and left the wine-business as an importer. My wife Anna worked fulltime in a pharmacy to support this change of direction. In a reversal of more traditional roles, I cared for our young daughter Paula alongside studying photography during the day. Having a child made a deep impression on me. I thought that the accompanying feelings of responsibility, vulnerability and love could be explored throughout photographing Paula. More than making family snapshots, I wanted to record the fleeting moods, changes and events as well as the significant physical and psychological transitions in my child’s life. By extension, the pictures becoming over time an ongoing dialogue between father and daughter.

Why does your work specifically focus on Dutch painters of the 17th Century?

Some Dutch painters of the 17th century are silent teachers who give me goosebumps. However, the paintings that most closely connect with my artworks are that of the Flemish Primitives. The portraits that I admire have in common that they are always descriptive, not interpretive. The subjects are depicted in isolation. The portraits emphasize the specific, the identity of the person and not the general, a concept or a fine quality. They are about the actual characteristics of the sitter: they do not idealize. That is something I also strive for. My goal is to add a dimension in which the person depicted is able to convey the feeling that the artist or camera is not present.

How would you define your style?

I borrow from the past, but I also desire to rupture classical codes apart by using modern-day materials to introduce a tacit ecological message. That is how I add twists to themes of family and (art) history in my artworks.

You have a reputation of being a state-of-the-art perfectionist.

When you want to emphasize a staged and monumental quality to your works you have to be precise in your practical and technical working methods. But to maintain a certain quality over the years has more to do with perseverance, discipline and the eagerness to learn new things.

I read your work focuses on the fact that daily life has always been central to art. Can you elaborate?

I think all artists respond in some way creatively to daily life and their domestic surroundings. When I look at things, I automatically see other possibilities than the intentional purpose of it (for example plastic bags, napkins, cupcakes and doilies). The materials I use correspond to daily life, but also refer to a fantasy world that exists consciously or subconsciously.

In what way is your work a dialog between the mediums of painting and photography?

In addition to understanding and reinterpreting artistic traditions, I think it is important to allow classical forms to enter into a dialogue with contemporary techniques and visual languages. That is why I use objects from my personal surroundings. My point is that disposables, such as plastic bags, can be turned into portable attributes with an ironical twist end therefor have the ability to refer to our collective memory. In this way I can underline my concern about our treatment towards the environment, the beauty of insignificant materials and make a conceptual leap in time to the descriptive character of our art historical past. Because what fascinates me most about Northern European painting is the way in which paintings can be interpreted as descriptions of everyday life.

Your work includes the famous "Dutch" light. Why is such detail so important in your work?

Light has been used in various ways in art over the centuries. The Dutch light conveys a feeling that corresponds to the atmosphere of nature in which we live in as Northern Europeans. I use it in my work because it suits the environment in which I live in, but also to convey a sense of sobriety, clarity and serenity. Light is therefore an ingredient that partly determines the recipe for a good picture. But depth of field, details and the way of looking also contribute to the expressiveness of my compositions.

People are often struck by the names you give to the names you give to your work. What lies behind such original names?

What you see is what you get. To be serious, I do not believe the artworks are better with a literary high- end name, that is why the titles are close to the subjects’ matter.

What's next for you?

I will of course continue to photograph Paula. But I also am working on some sculptures to examine the possibilities of photography and 3D printing. I also made attempts in painting in order to merge between all kinds of media. I do not want to be limited by one discipline. I believe that the pictorial effect can be the same in painting, photography and sculpture. In this way I can bring my fascination for all kind of arts together in my own artistic practice.

© Hendrik Kerstens, Bag, 2007