Painting by van den hooven 4 Artworks Sold

Irreconcilable Differences 2

Watercolour, Paper, Framed by Artist

52cm (W) x 42cm (H) x 3cm (D)

Certificate of Authenticity Included

Framed by Artist

A$260

Arrives 17–19 Sep

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Artwork Description

This artwork is a striking example of abstract expressionism, characterized by its bold use of color, fragmented forms, and a chaotic composition that evokes strong emotion. The piece appears to depict a distorted, contorted pair of interconnected faces with exaggerated and disjointed features: large, asymmetrical eyes; multiple sets of white grid-like teeth; while human organs are re-connected in strange new ways.

The fragmented face could symbolize inner turmoil, fear, or a fractured sense of identity, common themes in abstract expressionist works.

The use of thick black outlines to separate the shapes gives it a stained-glass-like quality, while the vibrant colors (reds, blues, yellows, and greens) create a sense of intensity and unease.

Artist Bio

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.

Commissions

van's studio is in Moruya