IJsbrand Hortensius

INSPIRATION

Since a young age, IJsbrand has been fascinated by the beauty of nature: its colours, its play of light, its shapes, textures and patterns. Combined with his experiences of world travel, this forms the core of his creative process.

In addition, his artistic vision is strongly influenced by his background as a cameraman and filmmaker. He has the ability to accurately observe shapes, movement, colours and light, a skill that he uses to shape his ideas.

As a drone operator, he mainly films from above. He uses this bird’s eye view in his artistic process, as it conveys a sense of peace and dynamism. Experiencing his work from this perspective takes you on a perceptual voyage of discovery, with an added dimension. A twig might suddenly appear to be a ‘tree’, for example; it’s in the details that the magic of his fantasy world lies. His artworks often evoke a feeling of movement and energy, leaving the viewer with a sense of wonder.

TIME

His work develops intuitively, and his challenge as an artist is to find a balance between fantasy and reality. He focuses on recycling, conserving and preserving organic materials, something that is closely linked to his fascination with the concept of changing flora into fauna (for example, the transformation of a bamboo leaf into a living creature). This concept emphasises unity and connection with nature.

As an artist, he expresses himself in textural paintings on canvas and paintings on museum glass. He uses pure pigments and unique, colourful paints, which he mixes carefully. In his paintings on canvas, he creates a three-dimensional texture by covering the canvas in molten metal, for example, and sand, flowers, shells and other natural finds. In his paintings on museum glass, he uses UV-resistant resin to preserve natural finds, including botanical and maritime specimens, with the aim of them forever. The anti-reflection glass makes it feel as though you could touch the work.

In one particular series of paintings, he incorporates light: you see the light shining through a leaf, revealing its veins and structures. These light paintings transport the viewer into a magical and imaginary world, offering an uninhibited experience with a dash of enchantment.

His passion and vision are focused on creating artworks that make the seemingly impossible possible; a journey that is worth the effort. A quest to reveal something that you might never have thought possible.