Degann

DEGANN also known as Anne de Groot(b. 1989) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. My paintings and watercolours are vivid and aesthetically liable images that sometimes disguise an atrabilious element. Mental vulnerability and transience are central themes in the work. The multiple layers in the paintings create an elusive form. Like light, the works are simultaneously fleeting and present. This corresponds with my perception of paintings as breathing organisms. This is why they are not made as mere artistic statements, but originate from a sincerely felt inner necessity. I search for shapes that intrigue and convince me. In my portraits I do not paint faces, but heads, which for me creates a different sense of intimacy. I see the face as a structured spatial order covering the head, which houses the soul. I don’t work towards mimesis but towards a possible temporary essence of the portrayed, which is often introspective and removed. The transparency of the layers of paint creates discolorations on the surface. These aqueous spots that deform the shape of the heads approach that what is inside, the intimacy of the sitter’s spirit.