Meet the Artist // Karen Hendrickx
Karen Hendrickx (@karenhendrickxart) , is a visual artist based in Antwerp, Belgium. Since 2017, she has delved into a captivating series exploring the beauty of dance and movement. Together with choreographer Justine Copette, Karen crafted “Sketches of Emotion,” a performance merging dance and visual art. Expression is at the core of Karen’s work. Her artistic process blurs the line between abstraction and figuration.
How did your artistic journey begin?
There is not really a beginning. I have always been drawing and painting even since I was a child. I can’t remember a life without art. It is like it has always been there and it will always be there. It is a way of living for me, painting and drawing. When I was younger, I remember a lot of children playing outside. Instead of being outside I created my own atelier and I think I spent the whole summer there.
How would you describe your practice as an artist?
Painting is for me a real expression of my feelings. It’s a real feeling. I really feel that I need to express something. So, my emotions are in my paintings and in my drawings. It is about survival and the paintings are my personal way to survive.
What inspires you to create your art?
It’s my way of expressing my emotions, and not an inspiration that comes first to me and then I will start painting. I think there is a real need inside me.
What influenced your decision to come to GlogauAIR ?
I found out about the space during the corona time. But then it was complicated with corona but afterwards I was still thinking, okay, now I’m up to go to a residency. And then I thought again about GlogauAIR and I thought about Berlin. Berlin is a great city to be in. So, I knew the space already and then it felt like it was meant to be.
Does the city of Berlin have an influence on your production?
I can see the dark feeling of the city. It’s still present and it’s really connected to my feelings. That’s why the city has helped me, because I feel that I’m really touched by Berlin. And then I started thinking about the history and it’s not the nicest time in history, but there are so many lives in the city, and I almost cry when I see parts of the wall, I even didn’t exist in that period. But I can feel the pain of the people living in this time and how they dealt with it. Also, with the impact of the Second World War of course. And then it makes the feeling stronger to start painting and express it. So, in this way I would say yes.
