Jan-Hein Arens

Concentrating on universally understood needs and emotions, Dutch artist Jan-Hein Arens is able to connect with every viewer and admirer of his works. Arens works from his home in the Netherlands creating paintings, sculptures, and illustrations. He takes his inspiration from numerous avenues, including the Pop Art movement and COBRA (a 20th-century European avant-garde movement). His most notable influence stems close to home from drawings created by his young children. 

Arens brings together humor and alienation through his paintings. The forefront is typically centered on a simplified figure and text that almost appears to be the thoughts of the figure. Often realistic drawings of body parts, common everyday objects or products are superimposed onto the foreground. Each piece is augmented with additional handwritten text detailing certain aspects of the piece in a comical tone. Paint splatters and rough brushstrokes fill out the remaining space in the paintings, allowing the figures and text to be the focus of each well-thought-out illustration. 

Arens’ imagery and text create short stories on a once blank page. Through his slip cast sculptures, the 2 dimensions figures on the page come to life and each sculpture is individualized through unique paint splatters and brush strokes. 

Jan-Hein Arens attended the Grafische School Eindhoven from 1992-1996, where he was educated in Graphic Design and illustration. Arens has exhibited across the globe, including France, India, and New York.