Thijs Jansen, a Familiar Strangeness

The themes and style featuring in the artworks by Thijs Jansen (1986) are highly characteristic. He depicts ordinary scenes, such as a department for bathing suites in a warehouse, or an advertisement in front of a massage studio. And yet they are strange in a way, as if something is not quite as it seems. Viewers taking a closer look will often be surprised by the details. Jansen’s paintings are mysterious and challenge the audience to use their imagination interpreting his scenes. The artist favours bright, bold colours, possibly derived from Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan. The themes themselves are reminiscent of those of the magic realists.