Artist Spotlight: Frank t'Hoen

Frank t'Hoen's exhibition for Rooms of Redbull, detail.
Photo: F. t'Hoen

Frank t’Hoen's artistic style recently caught the attention of Red Bull's latest project in Amsterdam's Red Light District. His fascinating work been exhibited internationally, securing his work as a must-have for the connoisseur and new collector.

Frank’s latest exhibition is currently installed in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Entitled Pay for Art, Not Sex, Frank’s is sponsored by Red Bull’s project Rooms of Red Bull. The premise of the exhibition is to transform prostitution quarters into an artistic facility and community space. Eleven of Frank’s paintings were selected for a window installation.

All of the paintings are of women. Frank explains:

“The content is pretty controversial because it is situated in the Red Light district. It is a wink to the sex industry as well as a silent protest to women’s exploitation. It’s incredible to have the possibility to do an exhibition at a unique location like the Red Light district. But it’s also empowering to send a subtle message to the sex industry in general. I think woman are beautiful, woman are therefore the main object in my paintings. Women have something magical, pure and fragile, whereas they can be very powerful at the same time.

Painting is my way of expressing in pictures and colors this love for women. For me, a woman’s face is the most important part of her body. A face can express all different kind of emotions and moods. In a way, every face consists of a thousand more faces.”

Cloacking
Photo: F. t'Hoen

Frank ‘t Hoen was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 1980. At an early age, he developed a passion for painting.

His first influences came from American cartoons and pop culture iconography.

Europe in the 1980s was fascinated with American television and aired many shows in syndication.

As a child, Frank was exposed to many of the animated series Americans grew up with: He-Man, Thundercats, MASK, GI Joe, and more. These shows inspired Frank to start drawing.

Bourgeoning artist
Photo: F. t'Hoen

These exercises were supplemented with instruction from his older brother, who is an industrial designer.

Frank’s current sense of color, movement, and scale are a testimony to these early influences.

Notable artist Roy Lichtenstein and Takashi Murakami were also inspired by cartoons and incorporated striking color, familiar characters, and animated movement in their works.

New York City Graffiti
Photo: M. Murgia

At age 14, Frank was introduced to street art, aka graffiti. Of his initial introduction, he states:

“This was my first contact with graffiti and it opened a whole new world for me. No longer was I confined to paper for my creations. The whole world became my canvas and from that moment on I was hooked. Naturally this was not something that my parents would have approved of. So I had to be very careful not to get caught by my parents and the police.”

Graffiti origins start centuries ago, appearing on many ancient Greek and Roman ruins. Graffiti consists of images and lettering painted or scratched on the surface of a building. It was widely viewed as unsightly damage until recent years. The New York Times started to cover graffiti artist in the 1960s, elevating it from vandalism to artwork. The 1970s marked the spread of graffiti culture, as many American graffiti artists exhibited work in international galleries and documentaries such as Style Wars (1983) and Wild Style (1982) were released in syndication. Frank’s initial contact with American graffiti was, in fact, Wild Style.

Punkdeceau
Photo: F. t'Hoen

He made the transition to canvas in the late nineties after attending workshops at the St. Joost Academy for Fine Arts in Breda. These studies offered Frank new ways to implement his creativity. The Academy linked different disciplines that introduced Frank to a new perspective on art. He was introduced to the works of Marcel Duchamps, Andy Warhol, Micha Klein, Amedeo Modigliani, Marcel Duchamps, and Picasso.

After working in advertising for several years, Frank wanted more. He had been painting and received successful exhibitions in and around Amsterdam. Two years ago, Frank pursued painting full time. This decision was wise, as Frank’s work has appeared internationally in publications and exhibitions including: Turkey, Hungary, and Italy.

Frank produces new work on a consistent basis:

"I don’t paint every single day, but when I do, it is always with passion and commitment. My work has a pinch of punk, mixed with pop art and a dash of erotic minimalism. The shape, the look, the posture and the brushstrokes are very dynamic."

His passion and commitment has secured him an art exhibition in America this October. He will debut in Orange County, CA at 680 Roosevelt.