From Saturday, Feb. 24. until Monday 25 Mar.
Location: Dommelhof Theater Building

Karen Hendrickx is a visual artist from Belgium. Since 2017, she has been working on a series that combines painting, dance and movement, for which she created the performance ‘Sketches of Emotion’ together with the Belgian choreographer Justine Copette. During this performance, both artists interact with each other in an interdisciplinary way, with Hendrickx creating works that arise in the moment.

Emotion is always central to Hendrickx’s work. In this way, she always tries to live through and intensify her subject, instead of portraying it precisely. During her work, Hendrickx uses her medium in a physical, spontaneous way, literally trying to get into the movement. Her gestural way of painting is strongly influenced by her collaboration with choreographer Justine Copette. Her choice of materials is diverse, ranging from charcoal, chalk, Chinese ink, bister, acrylic to oil paint, which she applies to various surfaces; paper, canvas, even plexiglass.

The series ‘Sketches of Emotion’ consists of works made during the performance as well as works that were created in her studio. For these works, Hendrickx works purely from an inner energy, which she experiences in dance, music, the city, nature,… the works that are created in her studio are all memories of emotions that she experienced at a certain moment. has experienced.

Coincidence plays an important role in Hendrickx’s work, where she regards the canvas or paper as an arena in which the action takes place. She uses her entire body while working, creating a kind of choreography on the canvas. During the performance, she and Justine Copette create a large groundwork, in which the dance tracks become part of the artwork. Fleeting energetic traces are very important in her work, because they determine the power of the work and they are silent witnesses to an action that has taken place. When working, she prefers to work with sponges and alternative materials, found or not, rather than with brushes. This is because it is a much more direct way of painting for her.