Inspired by painting, cinema and his own neighbourhood, Pieter Jennes is thus the creator of a highly unique oeuvre. His very recognisable personal style draws on the work of Flemish painters from the 1920s, such as Jean Brusselmans and Gustave De Smet, but also Ensor, Otto Dix or Georg Grosz, African masks and folklore, the cinema of David Lynch and Werner Herzog. While his work is clearly rooted in the history of painting, it is equally clear that it is made in the present – note the disposable Starbucks coffee cup, the sign on a shop door that reads mondmasker verplicht (‘face mask obligatory’), the pair of Adidas socks, the ad for Ola-brand ice creams.

In one of his tree trunks, Jennes has carved the words ‘all work and no play makes Pieter a dull boy’, a reference to The Shining, in which Jack Nicholson’s character goes completely off the rails. But for Jennes, work and play go hand in hand. He takes his work very seriously, but at the same time, his canvases are dripping with the joy of painting.

Artists: Pieter Jennes