Biography

In my current conceptual work, image or stylistic features play a subordinate role. After postmodernism, I consider such concepts obsolete. Image has become a commonplace of mass culture, as it was even then. Only by providing an image with new codes or context can it escape this.

I borrow and recompose images. They are representations of concepts that regularly appear in our contemporary visual world, but which, through manipulation, contextual alienation, and associative reference, yield new visual meaning. I usually create diptych paintings. This is to express the interplay between two extremes of form, execution, and meaning. Nowadays, the term "reversal of polarities" is applicable.

Since 1995, I have been creating conceptual work on various subjects, engaging a critical perspective on human functioning. Besides the technical integration, it also inspired me to shape my intellectual objectives. This includes applications of electronics, LEDs, and neon lighting as possibilities for visual expression. The neon usually comes from old factory buildings, many of which I demolished in the 1990s, saving them from destruction.

It feels good to give it a new life in my work, in a completely different context. This way, the letter or a series of letters acquires a meaning that breaks free from the purely lithographic aspect it once had. In my current work, this letter, or other light effects, are combined into a complete image.

The substantive meaning can generally be traced back to how I experience the extreme contradictions of our time in my work. The world in which humanity lives is hypocritical and false, making injustice an accepted phenomenon and reflecting a complete illusion. I cannot separate this from my artistry, because it is my task to use my accentuated visual meanings to provide a focused stimulus to guide consciousness in a certain direction. I must state that the image, or the translation of meaning into the image, is always the primary driving force, along with the conceptual content, to be able to represent the image in its uniqueness.

Artist Statement

Since 1995, I have been creating conceptual work on various subjects, engaging a critical perspective on human functioning. Besides the technical integration, it also inspired me to shape my intellectual goals. This includes the applications of electronics, LEDs, and neon lighting as possibilities for visual expression. The neon usually comes from old factory buildings, many of which I demolished in the 1990s, saving them from destruction.

It feels good to give it a new life in my work, in a completely different context. This way, the letter or a series of letters acquires a meaning that breaks free from the purely lithographic aspect it once had. In my current work, this letter, or other light effects, are combined into a complete image.

The substantive meaning generally stems from how I experience the extreme contradictions of our time and how I want to express that in my work. The world in which humanity lives is hypocritical and false, making injustice an accepted phenomenon and reflecting a complete illusion. I cannot separate this from my artistry, because it is my task to use my accentuated visual meanings to provide a focused stimulus to guide consciousness in a certain direction. I must state that the image, or the translation of meaning into the image, is always the primary driving force for its uniqueness, together with its conceptual content.

www.hansvanwingerden.nl
@h.vanwingerden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WDPquNQfZI
https://www.contemporaryartcuratormagazine.com/home-2/hans-wingerden-interview
https://www.artistcloseup.com/blog/hans-van-wingerden
https://www.contemporary-art-collectors.com/art-insights/hans-van-wingerden-review
https://www.contemporaryartcuratormagazine.com/home-2/hans-van-wingerden-review