Thinkspace Projects is thrilled to bring the community Willem Hoeffnagel’s Similaries, presented in collaboration with League OTO. The painter, born in the Netherlands, brings his lifelong enthusiasm for art, depicting recognizable figures that he has been portraying for more than a decade. Using these figures as placeholders, he is able to craft understandable scenes that are not heavily influenced by the subject’s identity.
In Similaries, he draws inspiration from the movements of others, gazing at strangers and those he knows as they run around his town. He leans into his personal reactions and feelings, using them to fuel the figures he is known for.
“The figures are all seen in different states; some calm, some mid-movement. It’s subjects like that that most move me in paintings I enjoy myself. It suits my personality, I don’t search for more meaning in my works, I look for similarity between the figures and me, or us. For my viewers to see themselves and their everyday lives in my work.”
About Willem Hoeffnagel
Willem Hoeffnagel is a painter from the Netherlands. Born in 1995 in Arnhem, he has always been interested in drawing and painting from an early age. After leaving a bachelor's in entrepreneurship in Amsterdam, Willem enrolled in ArtEZ Zwolle to study illustration design. During that time he focused on his personal style while also experimenting with new techniques and ideas.
However, Illustration didn’t end up being his strong point and he left in year 3 out of 4 but working on his art every day helped with developing as an artist in general. Soon after that, he started to work on his painting full-time, to grow in the medium he loves the most.
The recognizable figures that feature in Willem’s work have been close to him for more than a decade. Using the figures as a placeholder for a person, whether himself or someone else, it allows him to portray a scene or part of a small story to the viewer without putting to much attention to who it’s meant to be.
