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Bart Kok: Dancing into Spring

27 April 2024 - 18 May 2024

EVENT DESCRIPTION

SENS Gallery is pleased to announce “Dancing into Spring”, a solo exhibition featuring new works by Dutch artist Bart Kok. This exhibition marks Bart Kok’s second solo show with the gallery, having previously debuted his works in Asia with SENS Gallery’s ‘An Acorn Fell On My Head’ exhibition in December 2022. Running from 27 April to 18 May 2024, the show features work created between 2023 and 2024, highlighting the distinct blue tones of the woodlands in Kok’s paintings to portray the arrival of the spring season.

Kok’s work blurs the lines between the corporeal and the fantastical, featuring distinctive, abundant landscapes that emanate feelings of vitality. Upon a closer look, it can be observed that each painting is decorated with a variety of patterns that encapsulates the otherworldly landscape. Despite the similarities in the colour tones and hues of his earlier works, Kok utilizes these characteristics to create a refreshing outlook of the world, particularly where life comes anew with the arrival of spring. In contrast, these same blue and cerulean tones of his earlier works highlight the coming of winter; the dark blues emanate the comings of the cold weather. Like his previous series, Kok explores his fascinations with the mysteries of life – the quiet felt between the trees, and the stillness of lakes in lush nature, encapsulates these feelings.

The various patterns that complement one another throughout his work creates a fascinating realm, kindly encouraging the imagination of the viewer to enhance what it feels like to be in that world. Kok takes prevalence in the finest details, utilizing the nuances of each pattern as various textural surfaces, enlivening the landscape. Finding inspiration through observation by strolling the geographies of the Dutch and Flemish countryside, Kok’s signature style is defined as a contemporary blend of pointillism and fauvism, reminiscent in the works of Georges Seurat and Henri Matisse.

Bart Kok blends the contemporary and the traditional: his strong brushstroke techniques are reminiscent of those seen in art history, but additionally applies oversaturated tones and colours to mimic their brightness as seen on a computer. To manifest these forests, woodlands and lakes in his realms, Kok draws to simply observe, and through photography, to blend the truths and imaginations that will perpetuate into familiar visions of the world that surrounds him.

In his works, Bart Kok’s fanciful patterns and colours synergize into a world that blends imagination and reality. The exhibition ‘Dancing into Spring’ highlights these verdure forests, accentuated in emerald colours, coming forth into the beginnings of spring.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Bart Kok (b. 1985) lives and works in the Netherlands. He graduated with an MA from St. Lucas School of Arts in Antwerp, Belgium in 2015 and completed the Manama Program at St. Lucas in 2017. Borrowing from art history, his oeuvre features abstract portraits of faceless figures and kaleidoscope-like landscapes.

Bart Kok actively addresses the act of painting in his works, influenced by the landscapes of Gustav Klimt, the colour tones of van Gogh and the bold tones featured in Fauvist works. He applies bright colours of brushstrokes onto the canvas, creating fantastical, imaginary realms that evoke contrasting themes such as life and death, tranquillity and chaos, as well as happiness and melancholy.

His works have been the subject of solo exhibitions, including ‘An Acorn Fell On My Head’ at SENS Gallery (Hong Kong, 2022-2023), ‘Never a dull little stroll’ (2022) and ‘You are a painter, do your job and let those who can, talk’ (2019) at Althuis Hofland Fine Arts (Amsterdam), ‘releaseparty, 3 lithographs by Bart Kok’ at Mischkin Editions (Amsterdam, 2019), ‘THE IDEOLOGY OF PIPESMOKING’ at Ornis A. Gallery (Amsterdam, 2017), ‘MET DE TRAAGHEID VAN HET DROGEN (With the slowness of drying)’ at Kavka (Antwerp, 2014) and ‘Word of Mouth’ at De Showroom (Antwerp, 2013).

Selected group shows include ‘OEOEartcall online exhibition’ at Tiniminiroom (Dordrecht, 2022), ‘Grenswerk’ at TAC (Eindhoven, 2020) and MOM Artspace (Hamburg, 2019), ‘Prospects and Concepts’ at Van Nellfabriek (Rotterdam, 2019), ‘Quicksand’ (Antwerp, 2017), ‘Young new painters’ at Ornis A. Gallery (2017), ‘IN HET MIDDEN’ at TAC temporary art centre (Eindhoven, 2015-16), ‘No More Heroes’ at Breda (2013) and ‘Breaking the wall’ at De Fabriek (Eindhoven, 2012).

He has won the Royal Award for Painting in 2016. He has participated art fairs including Art Rotterdam from 2017- 2022, Art021 Shanghai 2023 and Art Central Hong Kong 2023. His work is in the collections of Ahold Kunstcollectie, KPMG and Izala Zwolle, among others.

Details

Start:
27 April 2024
End:
18 May 2024
Event Category:

Organiser

SENS Gallery

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