Danielle Hoogendoorn

Danielle Hoogendoorn (1987) draws her inspiration from everyday life. Objects and scenes that emerge directly from her surroundings – a tree, a cat, the stove in her studio, a rabbit, or her parents-in-law’s Volvo – form the starting point of her work. What may seem insignificant at first glance is transformed in her paintings into powerful, archetypal images. The speed and intensity with which Hoogendoorn works demand immediate choices. The result transcends the personal and takes on an open, layered meaning.

The intention behind her work arises from her changed life situation. As a mother, time has become a scarce resource, forcing her to rely on impulsive decisions and on whatever is at hand. This limitation turns into a strength: painting itself takes center stage, rather than inventing a subject or assigning deeper symbolism. A watering can remains simply a watering can, a car merely a car – but in paint, they acquire a new presence and intensity.

Since 2020, Hoogendoorn’s practice has expanded to include ceramics, readymades, and assemblages. By also using existing objects or earlier works as carriers, she explores how the painterly gesture can take on new forms. In this way, an oeuvre develops that is rooted in the everyday, but continually makes the leap to the universal: the ordinary becomes image, and thereby gains an unexpected expressive power.