Daan Roukens is a Dutch visual artist, known for his diverse and colourful abstract self-portraits. He portrays what is going on in his head in an abstract way. Roukens continuously experiences a restless feeling as a result of the tension between order and chaos and is always searching for the connection between the two. “When I experience too much chaos, I let my obsessive perfectionism run free and if that structure becomes too dominant, I will add chaos again. This allows me to connect both and to create a peace of mind, which feels like a sublime experience. I feel the strong need to take the viewer into this process in order to experience the same as I do.“

Through his art he gives new value to daily life by questioning contradictions that most people take for granted. Various opposing answers can coexist and together they exceed thinking in black-and-white terms. “I change everyday recognizable things in such a way that it broadens my perspective and that of the viewer.”

Roukens successfully graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art at AKV St. Joost (Den Bosch, 2009) and obtained his Master of Fine Art degree at the Sandberg Instituut (Amsterdam, 2018). His work varies from autonomous projects to commissions and initiating his own exhibitions. His abstract self-portraits are known by a broad audience and are exhibited at museums, galleries, shops and fairs. He lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Expect Nothing, Appreciate Everything

Inspired by Google’s colour logo, the research is followed by an interplay of straight and spontaneous lines. I’m searching for new forms of communication within the painting process by sound, film and sculpture. Stay tuned!

The Abstract Self-Portrait

The Abstract Self-Portrait emphasis on the experience of the (painting) process. By literally transforming painting Say Yes When You Want To Say No #6 into video and sound, the painting unfolds with each added layer. A color accentuates a tone and no paint implies no sound. With The Abstract Self-Portrait, Roukens creates new gateways through that process into that sublime experience. The video continuously constructs moments of contradictions between process and result, between painting and sound, and between the artist and the viewer.

06 Mar   Some insights for a future project..

With all the insights I gained during my Masters at the Sandberg Instituut, I now have a better understanding of what my art is about and how I want to proceed. As I’m currently working on this ‘Google Project’ and ..

11 Feb   Mr. Wallski presents two limited editions

I’m very pleased to announce that two paintings from the series Say Yes When You Want To Say No are now online available at Mr. Wallski. A young start-up based in Amsterdam that wants to make buying art accessible for everyone.

31 Jan   Abstract Self-Portraits, but Why?!

After releasing my video artwork: The Abstract Self-Portrait last month, I found it necessary to explain the reason behind this title. It marked the beginning of new understandings about my art.