Willem Hoeffnagel: Embodied

EVENT DESCRIPTION

WOAW Gallery is pleased to present Dutch painter Willem Hoeffnagel’s solo exhibition Embodied. Taking place from May 16 – June 14 in 5 Sun Street, Wan Chai, the exhibition presents a new body of Hoeffnagel’s artworks revolving the sentiments in life with his recognizable figures. Showcasing 20 artworks that Hoeffnagel created this year, the exhibition marks as the second collaboration between the gallery and the artist.

Titled Embodied, the exhibition features Dutch painter Willem Hoeffnagel’s recent works surrounding the subtle sentiments in life, where he continues to create his recognizable figures while exploring introspection and emotions. He believes they are a core component that makes humans distinctive, declaring that the emotions we experience in life are a fundamental part of what makes us human – to Hoeffnagel, there are no absolute good or bad emotions, but just a representation of a state of mind. His cartoonesque figures act as a placeholder without them having to represent a specific person, giving room to ambiguity about what stories or situations they are in, allowing the viewer room for interpretation. Each of his works exhibiting in Embodied conveys emotions that viewers grasp and sympathize with, but are not clearly defined.

In Embodied, Hoeffnagel visualizes intangible feelings through the juxtaposition of eyes and several elements, creating various scenes carrying subtle emotions. With the absence of facial expressions, the artist himself and viewers can echo with the characters through other factors such as hand gestures, rain drops, ropes. In one of the highlighted works, Tangled portraits a moment of a figure being tangled in ropes. From the placement of the fingers, viewers can sense the slight anxiousness, or perhaps excitement the character is experiencing.

The artist created several works including multiple characters in a scene that conveys subtle yet complex feelings about human interactions. In Conflicted, the two figures are against each other with swords, while their hands are grasping each other. Their swords in hand, the two figures stand facing one another with their hands gripping each other’s. Their eyes and gestures are showing a subtle sense of hesitation and sadness of confrontation. Despite the presentation of certain emotions, a major part of his interest in art is looking at his paintings and questioning what is happening and searching for the unseen and seen aspects of his pieces.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Willem Hoeffnagel (b. 1995, Arnhem, the Netherlands) is an artist from Arnhem, the Netherlands. In his work he explores the things that make us innately human through a visual language that could be described as cartoonesque. Through the figures often featured in his work, he tries to show uncomplicated human emotion. Even though the figures often don’t have detailed facial features they still convey a message. Using them as a placeholder without them having to represent a specific person gives room to ambiguity about what stories or situations they are in, allowing the viewer room for interpretation.