Sea dragon (black edition) Photograph

Sijbrand's work stems from an urge for conceptual change in contemporary painting. Sijbrand (1988, the Hague) studied journalism and photographic design. He worked briefly as a journalist, photographer and graphic designer before dedicating his life to art. Recently he exhibited in ‘Museum De Fundatie’ and received a commission from the In4Art’s kickstART program. At this moment his work is represented by gallery Ton in Rucphen (NL). Sijbrand creates balance and harmony in his works based on evidence based research. He adopts techniques and theories to tell his stories. “I have this interest for researching the use of new materials. I love the craftsmanship to master a material completely. It gives me even greater joy when I develop the materials myself. This development to make something totally new sometimes takes months. But that’s all worth it”, he says. In his studio, this leads to the development of completely new types of paint and painting techniques. “The focus is often on the material but the story and the research behind it is much more important to me.” His parents were both researchers in their own way. His father was a clinical pathologist and his mother used to works as a medical analyst, She later dedicated herself as a ceramist and filt artist. His grandfather from his mother’s side, was a carpenter, he made cigar and music boxes in his attic. “My grandfather once made a doll’s house, it took him more than 20 years to finish it. It had a ballroom where every wooden tile was made by hand. A beautiful chandelier hung above the room to illuminate his craftsmanship. I have always hoped that I would inherit that patience and that attention to detail.” “I wanted that same focus and dedication. I never take anything for granted. I keep experimenting until I find a way to materialize my thoughts in the best way possible. It comes from my overconscious brain that is full of stories which I want to translate visually. It is a process full of doubts. A long road in which I constantly force myself as an artist to make decisions from a cloud of incomprehensible thoughts.”