Artist statement
Jan Janssens (Tilburg, 2000) graduated from Sint-Joost Academy in July 2023. In his work, he invites the viewer to turn inward and reflect on the processes that are happening within us. He addresses themes such as love, connection, spirituality, and sustainability.
In his paintings, sculpteres and installations he portrays cities with skyscrapers, one of the first images he can remember. The high buildings are a metaphor for society. The constant going, growing, improving, speeding up, enlarging, and increasing. It removes the personal from society. Therefore, Jan wants to focus on connection in his work.
The connection takes place partly in the materials and techniques. He tries out as many combinations and possibilities that come to him, then he incorporates these outcomes into his work, where a childlike visual language has a serious edge. Connections are depicted in bodies that show energetic energy, representing the processes that we cannot see but are present in us. These are contradictions with the cold city and its buildings.
In his work, he zooms in on what we can no longer see because we are blinded by the acceleration in society. Jan invites you to go inward and feel what his works do to you, preferably with your heart. According to him, this is the compass we all should follow, and it will lead us to where we need to be.
