On the one hand, the manner in which Dirk Bours paints reflects a process that is particular to cities as well- both his art works and the city are constructed through constant renewal and removal. On the other hand, certain elements of his paintings mirror his personal development. His investigative gaze into our urban living environment and its spatial compounds stems from earlier pursuits as a graffiti artist when he first came into contact more directly and intense with the city. The first interventions with this space were thus based on its functioning as a canvas followed by photographic documentation of these crude artistic marks. Through the medium of photography his recording eye became increasingly sensitized towards structure and composition but at the same time the dismantling and deconstruction of certain elements of urban environments. During his education as a graphic designer this fascination became more elaborate and developed into profound knowledge on aestheticizing  the spatial elements he encountered in the city. His present painting style has evolved after having enjoyed several years of artistic education at the Fine Arts as well as Photography Department in Maastricht

Although the sharp lines of graffiti and the precision of graphic design do not exclusively serve his artistic expression anymore, they are nevertheless visible, albeit more vaguely, and constitute a fundamental compositional part of his paintings situated between abstraction and figuration. The abstract character of the depictions prevent the viewer from referring to a city specific site- they can be related to any modern city. Having lived in Madrid and visiting many metropolises and capitals such as Bucharest, Vienna, Budapest, Istanbul, London, Berlin  and Helsinki  has served as a primary source of inspiration but also enabled him to make certain universal abstractions of the contemporary urban environments we live in.

Tekst door Aischa Berg, Universiteit Maastricht.

• WORKS
• CV
• Reviews

Henk Pijnenburg, Vandals or Crusaders

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Blade, Trains

Henk Pijnenburg – Blade, Interview