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Artist Exhibitions:
Collective Exhibition at Agora
Gallery, Feb.2006 in Chelsea
New York City.
Collective Exhibition at Agora
Gallery, June- 2007 in Chelsea
New York City.
Collective Exhibition Jan. 4
to 29 Jan. 2008, at Amsterdam
whitney gallery in Chelsea
NYC.
UPCOMING EXHIBITION AT ICO
GALLERY IN MANHATTEN NYC. FROM
SEPT-2 ...
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
upcoming exhibition at ico
Gallery NYC. Sept 2-23
2008....
Further Information
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Artist Reviews:
ArtisSpectrum Magazine -
Volume 19-May- 2008-
Ilona van Hoek ardently
engages the observable world,
re-envisioning landscapes,
figures, and the cosmos with
unrestrained energy that
catapults her paintings into a
surreal space between fact and
fiction. Her skyscapes and
landscapes have enough
descriptive detail to anchor
them in reality, but ...
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Collections:
Coming Soon!
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Artist Statement for Ilona Van Hoek
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Apart from the inheritance of salient features the upbringing takes up a considerable part in achieving a status gained through personal merit rather than as a result of the circumstances into which somebody is born. Nonetheless, it is also significant how the environment presents itself to the adolescent.
I my case an art-interested family tree can be traced to the 17th century; my maternal grandfather was a wrought-iron craftsman, and my mother painted; the father of my father was involved in the art of painting; my father made oil paintings, charcoal and pencil drawings.
Following World War II I grew up in a financial crisis with only a few toys and the neighborhood was covered with ruins. You could hardly appreciate a beautiful sight when it comes to architecture. But there was nature, improvisation and a lot of fantasies. Also count the practical knowledge of individuals in Rahnsdorf, my neighborhood, which included artists such as sculptors and writers.
As a little child I learned to paint on sand ways. My father animated me to decipher figures and images in the clouds and in nature. We painted with our mind, let it develop our great paintings, tried to explain it to others, and subsequently to search for a novel imaginary picture. We employed hours and hours therewith and crept into a beautiful and different world.
I remember that in the latter days of my childhood, during nighttime, I was painting pictures in my mind, and these were brought onto paper diurnal. By the way, this ability is sustained into the present. I usually produce a painting mentally days before the act of painting. The mental picture is in a finished state, with color and full detail, allowing that what I see can be put on canvas. (Unless, of course, there is interference and distraction)
When I was about 12 years old I painted portraits not just about to perfectly freeze them onto paper, but to be keen to utilize minimal time and stress the facial expressions. Often I modified the drawing and made it different to look like younger or older faces. Later, during my travels I exploited this achievement to receive money in return to finance the expenses of traveling.
Nowadays I am asked whether I using sketches, or whether I am capturing photos, or whether I need models for a painting. --No- I don’t need all of this because I have this ability to create a complete and detailed picture in my mind. Of course I copied the freedom statue, Venus von Willendorf, Einstein, Budda. In this respect you would try to represent at best what has been produced already. Except for little deviations I am a lifelong surrealistic painter.
With this style, and the underlying concept, it is possible to craft the early on learned views onto the canvas. Fantasy and reality as well as mysticism, history and future can be intertwined, without violating the embodied scene. The viewer is capable to develop its own version of the embodiment, allowing a hike into a fantastic world.
I. van Hoek
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