In this series of paintings, visual artist Daan Roukens continues his exploration of the in-between experience and how he can communicate this with the viewer. With Stumbling, he searches for the experience of that fragile balance between falling and just staying upright. It is a tension comparable to the in-between experience that Roukens seeks throughout his work. In his abstract self-portraits, he paints this doubt and aims to make that tension visible and perceptible by means of patterns, color and abstraction.

Straight and wavy lines alternate, white is set against colour, and the loose brushstroke interacts with the precise taped lines. A visual research from artistic actions in the painting process to the viewer’s experience when standing before the artwork. The choices are definitive and become visible between the lines in Clashed Between Right and Wrong or in the moment when the disruption becomes part of the pattern in You Got It or You Don’t. On the other hand, the diptych Als Sneeuw voor de Zon turns against the first three paintings, by pulling Clashed Between Right and Wrong apart and marking the beginning of Two Steps in the Wrong Direction. Here, horizontal and vertical lines intertwine into controlled chaos and mark the starting point of a new series of monochromes in Stumbling II.

Roukens is also creating new process videos for the paintings I Once Stumbled in a Forest, Two Steps in the Wrong Direction, and the video–sound artwork Variations on a Theme. In this series, the creative process plays a more prominent role: the viewer is taken through different stages in the development of the work. The process videos form an essential part of the narrative and are presented in various formats as video art during exhibitions, or as short videos on Instagram and Youtube. The (hand-painted) frames also function as a window to draw the viewer even further into the work.

Finally, Daan Roukens presents three new high-quality prints as an addition to the series. Each painting is issued in a limited edition of twelve giclée prints, produced on 310 g Hahnemühle German Etching paper.