INTERVIEW WITH WILLEM HOEFFNAGEL
Untitled 40×30cm 2025
1. What drives you in your current body of work, and how has that motivation changed over time?
My drive mostly constists of loving the process of coming up with an idea and then getting to execute it. I know that that sounds very basic but the directness of paint and pencil is what I find most exciting. There is no waiting time, you can start as soon as you get the idea. When that feeling hits when I feel like I have a good idea and I want to make it, that never fails to make me happy. If I answer it more with a focus on the theme it's that I'm fascinated with the idea of the art of repetition. Currently I'm working on a series of small size portraits, all similar but different. The works in this show are a part of that, I plan on making a bigger series on this idea.
2. In a world full of noise and fast images, how do you hope viewers engage with your art?
It's obviously up to the viewer, I can only share how I engage with it. What I love about my work are usually the tranquility of it. The figures in the paintings are usually calm, full and consist of a nice set of shapes and colors. I think it's satisfying to look at in the first place, and it get's better when there is a feeling that comes along with them.
3. Can you recall a specific work that marked a shift in how you see or make art?
I can actually! It's owned by a private collector who really helped me at the start-start of my career. He commissioned a couple of paintings and I really feel we almost worked together on these paintings. We spoke a lot during the process and it unlocked all kinds of new ideas in my practice that I still use today. If you're curious, it's the painting that's my Instagram profile picture!
4. What role does anonymity play in your figures, and how do you view identity in your practice?
It plays a huge role, it's the only thing that allows viewers to interprete these figures to be whatever fits with their view of what the story is. I'm not necessarily commited to never add more detail to them and never have it become it's own named figure but usually they have no specific identity which allows room for interpretation.
5. If you could build an immersive experience based on your visual world, what would it look like?
Fun idea! I love the idea of expanding the 'world' of my style. I'm not sure what it would like as of right now but I feel like I can do many, many more things with my ideas than I'm currently doing so I'm for sure always thinking of next moves.
