portrait 10 – Mark van Hoek
building up, tearing down and start again

Mark van Hoek, involved in ‘the New Eccentrics’ among others, is currently staying for several months at the renowned Düsseldorf Art Academy as a guest student. He regards that stay as part of his intensive search, involving experiences and contacts in the field of matter and techniques, as well as elements related to everyday life, form the basis.

Mark van Hoek, onder andere betrokken bij ‘de Nieuwe Zonderlingen’, verblijft op dit moment voor enkele maanden op de befaamde Kunstacademie Düsseldorf als gaststudent. Hij beschouwt dat verblijf als onderdeel van zijn intensieve zoektocht, waarbij ervaringen en contacten op het vlak van materie en technieken, alsmede elementen die verband houden met het dagelijkse leven, de basis vormen.

plea for the unknown
pleidooi voor het onbekende

“ building up, tearing down and start again ”

starring artist:

mark van hoek

text notes:

artistic practise*)
a professional work practice that testifies to artistry.

communion*)
in the roman catholic church, first (holy) communion is the festive occasion for children when they reach the age
of reason (about 6 to 7 years of age) to participate in the first eucharistic celebration. this first communion is
part of the sacraments of initiation. especially in the south of the netherlands and belgium, it is also an important
family celebration.

confirmation*)
in the roman catholic church confirmation, is also one of the sacraments of initiation. at the age of 11 or 12
confirmation strengthens the bond with the church after baptism, which is administered when you are a newborn.
it is also an important family celebration.

g-star*)
fashion giant g-star, which was founded in 1989 as a jeans brand by entrepreneur jos van tilburg, is one of the
largest fashion brands in the netherlands. the company grew into a fashion group with stores all over the world.

kask*)
the royal academy of fine arts of ghent, belgium (kask for short) together with the royal conservatory of ghent
form the school of arts of hogeschool ghent. it is one of the oldest academies in the low countries.
the academy has existed since 1748 when philippe-carel marissal founded a ‘free private school for drawing’
based on the paris model. in 1771 empress maria-theresa of austria named the academy a royal institution.

corona*)
in 2019, a cluster of symptoms of ‘pneumonia of unknown origin’ was observed in the chinese metropolis of wuhan.
after the virus was identified, more than 200 million people were infected worldwide. more than 4.5 million of them
died from the effects of the virus. social life in a significant part of the world largely came to a standstill.

de verffabriek*)
is the flemish name of the paint factory in ghent. from 2021, the paint factory became an artistic workshop for all
generations of artists and its events and exhibitions.

athens*)
the first democracy emerged in athens, one of the oldest cities (founded 3500 bc) and the capital of greece.
athens was the only greek polis where ordinary citizens had power in a direct democracy. remains of the ancient
city of athens can still be seen. the acropolis of athens, the fortified part of the city, is still visible. the ancient temple,
the parthenon and the agora are examples of these remains.

conceptual*)
conceptual art is an art form in which the idea or concept is more important than aesthetic or material-technical
considerations. the work ‘fountain’ by r. mutt created by marcel duchamp in 1917 is one of the best-known
examples of early conceptual art.

credits pictures and videos
shown by mark van hoek

5 x ‘oer’ (2021)
fashion collection mark van hoek

‘living sculpture’ (2021)
video mark van hoek

‘help less salvation’ (2023)
video mark van hoek

‘cirque d’un homme’ (2022)
installation mark van hoek