Can you appreciate an artist's work more if you know more about him or her? That question doesn't seem easy to answer. One could say that 'good' art stands entirely on its own—you might think that the experience of art could or should be independent of the creator. It is my belief that experiencing art is a very personal matter, and for that reason, the question cannot be answered in a general sense.
I can say something about how it works for me personally. Initially, there is something in a work that speaks to you. In my case, I can't (or at least not easily) put into words exactly what that is. You are moved, you feel a kind of resonance, a certain feeling is evoked or intensified. And then, for me, curiosity often arises about other works by the same creator. If I am also moved by those other works, I become curious about the artist and find it interesting to learn more about the person and what drives him or her.
So even though you hope that each work stands on its own and has a right to exist, the curiosity that is often sparked in me about an artist is the reason I also share something about myself here.
I started painting for the first time when I was already sixty years old—out of necessity. Until then, everything related to technology had been the common thread in my working life, but it turned out to be a dead end. Even though I had talent for the highly technical work I did, I became stuck. It was as if I got stuck in my head. I wasn’t able to express what was going on inside me, how I felt.
Talking, thinking, understanding, analyzing, and interpreting were well-developed skills for me, but they didn’t serve or help me to overcome my personal— and even existential—crisis. In fact, they got in the way. Despite my conviction that I had no talent for artistic expression, I eventually signed up for art therapy. There, I encountered a completely new experience: expressing how I feel through (abstract) images, colors, movement, and contrasts.
For me, my work is about the right to exist—marked by life, the struggle with life, and the fight not to give up. And no matter how heavy and serious this theme may seem—and indeed it almost always forms the starting point of my work—to my surprise, a kind of strength emerges in my work, despite the adversity. Often, I can’t see it myself, but others do—something that has to do with vitality or the force of life. This process, and the path I follow and explore through painting, is healing for me and serves as my anchor. It is my hope that something of that energy may be felt or experienced by others.
For further information, please contact Frank Oxener at +31 (0)6 494 16 406 or via frank.oxener-at-gmail.com (replace -at- with the @ symbol :-) ).
Atelier Dovadi
Alkmaar, Netherlands
Kvk: 37127627
BTW NL001563681B92