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Special Issue

Contemporary Art

Pepijn Simon Lives and works Amsterdam, Netherlands

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There is ultimately a combination between realism and abstraction that is needed to portray an emotion. We are all programmed to see faces and to recognize emotion in them. Pepijn Simon pushes the boundaries of this challenge. A friend in art school noticed a face in a painting and this inspired the work. He had what Simon describes as “a certain look in his eyes.” He says, “I didn’t pay much attention to it. Years later, I painted this series of portraits, and I finally understand that look.” It is clear that these are human figures, but everybody is going to see the characters differently. Simon paints without the use of any brushes. In fact, he is using old twisted credit cards. He begins with a black painted canvas and paints while it’s still wet. He applies the white paint without any sketching or use of photographs. “I try to catch the person who reveals himself in the paint at that moment. This goes very fast. Shortly afterwards, I decide, while the paint is still wet, if it can stay or not. If not, then I start the process again...

SPECIAL ISSUE

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