JANINE VAN OENE
Current exhibition
Past exhibitions
Cottage Core Crossed Wires Orange Orchid Sensual Strokes Standing on the shoulders of giants Sweet Spills Umami Maybe
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Orange Orchid
Multiple
Edition of 15
Size: 35 x 35 cm
Price: €875 incl. VAT
Buy 2 or more works and get 20% off.
Material:
High-quality print by Ruijgrok Piezography, mounted on 1 mm aluminum
+ hanging profile, creating a 1 cm offset from the wall
Hand-painted with gouache, acrylic, and oil paint
This series came from my fascination with flowers that look like animals and animals that look like flowers.
My work revolves around capturing everyday objects, nature, and objects shaped by nature, removed from their original context. In this way, new compositions are formed that find a balance between fragility and strength, with the transformation of plants and animals as a central theme. Each painting feels like a visual testimony of how nature appears today, while I wonder how future generations will perceive it. What feels familiar today may evoke a sense of alienation in another time. This tension—between recognition and wonder—is something I strive to capture in my work.
Using broad brushes and a calligraphic technique, I work intuitively, always in search of the essence of the subject, captured in a single brushstroke. My painting process is like a collage: elements are added, removed, or rearranged to create surprising forms. The paintings emerge layer by layer, with control never fully in my hands, and the final image appears as if it had always been meant to be that way. It is carefully and transparently built up, and I find it interesting that you can see how the work slowly emerges through exploration. The space between brushstrokes, the use of white, is just as important as the strokes themselves, as it invites the viewer to actively seek meaning. In some layers of white, faint traces of earlier forms are still visible, which are as fleeting and changeable as nature itself.
Working on paper and doing so much at once has transformed my practice: it offers a lightness and flexibility that aligns with my goal of making my brushwork as fleeting and vibrant as nature itself. The square format also gives me a lot of freedom; I can rotate it and approach it from different angles until I discover an interesting composition. Ultimately, my work is about challenging what we perceive and how we interpret it—a search for a new way to experience the beauty and mysteries of nature.