Bas van den Hurk

°1965, Tilburg (NL) – lives and works in Tilburg (NL)

Bas van den Hurk’s process-based practice explored the boundaries of painting. His works relate strongly to art history – to specific viewing points and ways of expressing characteristics to early twentieth-century modernism. In modernism, different visions and styles remain strictly separate – minimalism, abstract expressionism, pop art. In van den Hurk’s practise, the distinctions between these modernist art movements fade away.

Characteristic for van den Hurk’s intuitive way of painting is multilingualism, uniting a multitude of modernist languages, styles and techniques. His most recent works for example combine abstract expressionist gestures in oil paint with pop-like patterns, printed on wrinkled silk.

To Van den Hurk, collaborating with others is important. This collaborative character of van den Hurk’s practise is another link to early modernism. He shares modernist’s utopian ideal that art is not something made in a vacuum, but is always part of the life we’re living. That’s why Bas van den Hurk often collaborates on projects like clothing or architectural designs.

Bas van den Hurk - Beatrix kiddo (medium) #1, 2015

Bas Van Den Hurk - Ce Cile De Volagnes 2015

Bas van den Hurk - Sissy Hankshaw (large) #1, 2015

Bas van den Hurk - Olatunji, 2021

Bas van den Hurk - For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong, 2017

Since collaborations are central to Bas van den Hurk’s practise, his solo exhibitions often evolve into duo or even group shows. He’s had solo and duo exhibitions at – among others – La Brea Studio, Los Angeles; Hopstreet, Brussels; Jerome Pauchant, Paris; RH Contemporary, New York; Ginerva Gambino, Cologne; Metafora, Barcelona; and P///AKT, Amsterdam.
His work was part of group shows around the world, including at Berthold Pott, Cologne; Middlemarch, Brussels; Autocenter, Berlin; De Vleeshal, Middelburg; Extra-City, Antwerp; The Neutra Museum, Los Angeles; VM Gallery, Karachi; and Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven.

Bas van den Hurk is represented by the following gallery;
click through to discover more of his work.

Rod Barton, London

You can also see more of Bas van den Hurk’s work on his own website.