DAAN KOENS
Daan Koens is a multidisciplinary artist from the Netherlands currently based in Rotterdam. Working across painting, drawing, and sculpture, Koens explores themes of identity, absurdity, and the surreal side of everyday life. His practice is marked by playful distortion and a fascination with the quirks of human behavior and narrative. Blurring boundaries between the real and the imaginary, Koens constructs vivid, character-driven worlds that invite both reflection and humor. His work captures fleeting emotions and quiet absurdities with a spontaneous, highly personal touch.
YOUR WORK OFTEN FEELS LIKE A SNAPSHOT OF A STRANGE, ALMOST ALTERNATE WORLD. WHAT INSPIRES THESE SCENES OR CHARACTERS?
Most of it comes from intuition. I don’t really start with a clear concept or message. I just try to create images that feel alive or charged in some way. I remember hearing Werner Herzog say, “we need more images for humanity,” and that stuck with me. That’s kind of how I approach it, just adding my own weird contributions to that ongoing collective pool.
AS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST, HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHETHER AN IDEA BECOMES A PAINTING, A DRAWING, OR A SCULPTURE?
It’s not something I overthink. Usually the idea just pushes itself in a certain direction. I’ve tried different things over the years but painting is where I feel most at home, so in 99% of cases that’s the path I’ll follow.
WHAT ROLE DOES HUMOR OR ABSURDITY PLAY IN YOUR WORK?
A pretty big one. I think humor and absurdity are essential, not just in art but in life. Without them, everything becomes too serious. Even when a work looks quiet or melancholic, there’s usually some underlying weirdness in it. I can’t stand things that feel too clean or dull.
HOW DOES YOUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENT IN ROTTERDAM INFLUENCE YOUR PRACTICE?
Rotterdam really feels like home. The buildings here, the architecture in general, have a big impact on how I see and construct images. The city has this mix of sharpness and openness that I think slips into the work without me trying. And just being around the people, hearing stories, experiencing daily life, that all ends up influencing my paintings in subtle ways.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO BEING PART OF THE 4BY6 AUCTION PROJECT?
They reached out to me on Instagram about a year ago, and I liked their approach right away. There’s something really beautiful about what they’re doing—recycled materials, giving artists a platform, and raising money for charity at the same time. It feels honest and generous, which is rare.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PIECE YOU CREATED FOR 4BY6, AND HOW IT FITS INTO YOUR LARGER BODY OF WORK?
It’s based on Goya’s “The Drowning Dog”. I swapped the dog for a crocodile and wrote “Perro” above it in red oilstick. It wasn’t some grand concept, I just thought it was funny. But like a lot of my work, it ended up being kind of sad and ambiguous too. That tension fits with the rest of what I make.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE VIEWERS TAKE AWAY FROM EXPERIENCING YOUR WORK IN THIS CONTEXT?
I like when a piece leaves people a bit confused but intrigued. Would be nice if they could have a laugh about it.
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED TO EXPLORE NEXT IN YOUR ARTISTIC JOURNEY?
Right now I’m working on a series of paintings inspired by Hokusai’s “36 Views of Mount Fuji”, but centered around Rotterdam’s most beautiful building “De Delftse Poort”. It’s more of a conceptual homage than a stylistic one, since my approach leans more toward impressionist oil paintings instead of wood block printing. Alongside that, I’ve been diving deeper into studying classical artists. I feel a strong urge to sharpen my skills and head in a more classical direction. We only get one life, and trying to reach some form of mastery is something I see as a kind of obligation to myself, in the best possible way.