Interview
Johan Neyrinck
Johan Neyrinck was born in Roeselare, Belgium. He is a multi-faceted person, working as an industrial designer while at the same time enjoying being a composer, musician, cook and painter.
Johan loves music, good food, nature, dancing, traveling on his motorbike and culture.
He is a father to 3 daughters.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I am a product designer, a musician, composer, cook, lover of nature, culture and life. I have my daughters, my love and friends. With all these different facets of myself, I am always looking at how I can express all the stories I see and feel around me, with all my senses, through my art.”
What inspires you most?
“The big little stories of life, nature and people are all sources of inspiration. Even in ugliness, you can feel inspiration.”
“I look around and see thousands of stories in which you can imagine or recognize elements for your own life. Small daily facts hide deep emotions and desires. I try, through the everydayness of the anecdote, to show our questions, our search and the meaning of life.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is seemingly a representation of the reality of life. I change the original image in terms of décor, color, and composition to realize a story in which each person can find his/her own story.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I have a number of artists who have influenced my work. These are Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Caaravaggio, Goya, Géricault, Delacroix, Ensor, Joaquin Sorolla, Toulouse-Lautrec, Schiele, Munch, Matisse, Dirk Wouters, Constantin Meunier, Lucian Freud, Kandinsky, Francis Picabia, Picasso, Alechinsky, Karel Appel, Giacommetti, Georg Baselitz.
More recently, and closer in my neighbourhood, Michaël Borremans, Sam Dillemans, Luc Tuymans, Koen Broucke, Rinus Van de Velde and Mieke Teirlinck.”
What is your creative process like?
“I take pictures and often combine several images into one composition. I combine backgrounds with people, cutting out or adding individuals in. Within these pictures, I search for the essence of life behind the small stories. I then translate them into drawings and paintings. First, I make sketches to realize the composition. Afterwards, I create the structural drawing on canvas and start painting. Choosing the colours is mostly an intuitive process. While painting, I often change the background in contrast with the figures until I'm happy with the feeling and the resonation.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The artist has many roles: showing what life is about and the essence of things. Creating things you can reflect on. Searching for the beauty, the ugliness, the lies or the truths behind every little story.”
Instagram: @johan_neyrinck
