Identity Crisis 2

This artwork is an abstract expression of the artist’s inner world –his inner mind– utilising surrealistic elements and rich contrasting colors. The artwork consists of various shapes and forms, lines and curves, to create a dynamic and harmonious composition. The colors used in the artwork are mainly red, brown and gray neutral tones, with a touch of green and blue for the irises. The main feature of this piece is that organs connect together outside of the traditional head space. The position of the heart is transposed with that of the brain. Thus, the artwork is a reflection of the artist’s inner imagination, creativity and passion, as well as their deepest thoughts and feelings being externalised.

The artwork invites the viewer to explore the meaning and symbolism behind these colours, shapes and organs, and to appreciate the beauty and complexity of this abstract art. This artwork is a continuation of a series on internal human organs. Other artworks in this series include inanimate objects, but this artwork only includes facial features and organs, because it is a portrait. It's the first intentional portrait, based on another work (which was somewhat accidental in nature).

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van den hooven is an emerging Australian abstract cubist artist whose style is instantly recognisable for its quintessential features: bold lines, consistent colour palette and his symbolic logo-like depiction of facial features, bodily organs and other familiar objects.

His compositions are intentionally cluttered and contradictory, reflecting the chaos of modern life through a unique visual language that fuses the internal with the external, the animate with the inanimate, the natural with the technological.

Born into a lineage steeped in creativity, van den hooven’s artistic roots trace back to his grandfather Abraham Leendert van den Hooven, a Dutch sailor-turned-self-taught artist who settled in Australia in the late 1950s. His mother, Margarita Rosa, also pursued fine art, nurturing a household where creativity could flourish.

Coming from a science research background, van den hooven’s own journey into art was reignited after completing diplomas in graphic design (2016) and illustration (2018).

His work often explores themes of consumption, identity, internal conflict using familiar and quintessential objects—facial features, organs, androids, tentacles, surveillance cameras, crustaceans, fish, and more—to challenge viewers’ perceptions of necessity versus excess.

Looking forward, van den hooven is holding his inaugural solo art exhibition at the Clyde Gallery, Bay Pavilions Art+Aquatic centre, Batemans Bay, in August 2025.