Filip Henin

Filip Henin's paintings are heavily influenced by his childhood and teenage years spent in the Italian Alps with his family. A solitary person in nature is often depicted in his works, sometimes blending seamlessly into the landscapes behind through the use of transparent brushstrokes. His compositions are heavily influenced by his interest in photography, and he is particularly drawn to the work of Man Ray and Cindy Sherman, who use similar techniques of manipulation and experimentation in their photography. Henin also finds inspiration in other artists who create solitary figures, such as Gustave Courbet's Man Mad with Fear (1843) and Renato Guttuso's Palinuro (1931), which lead his paintings to convey a sense of melancholy, featuring characters who seem to be in a state of torment and loss. His paintings are deeply considered, yet they also have a sense of spontaneity, as if they are a product of his imagination in motion, captured at moments of intimacy amidst the turmoil, and are mutable until the final layer of paint dries. ...

Online viewing rooms so often surrender the most valuable and treasured part of viewing paintings: time. PPP makes space for the precious time we’ve lost online. They have made the move to an exhibition based platform, supporting artists with committed exposure, engaging dialogues and unwavering focus on their painting. Time spent engaging with an artists’ work is often cut short in galleries, as the art world continually demands the next and new. By encouraging us to look for longer, PPP places processes of cogitation at the forefront of the onlooker’s attention. Their platform becomes a repository for the longevity of both the painting and the painter. In feeding the desire of art lovers to look for longer, PPP indulges a painting’s most powerful effect: its capacity to inspire. ...