“Replace all world leaders with animals.”
Name
Keetje Mans
Profession
Artist
Website
keetjemans.nl
Where are you from?
I was born in Amsterdam Holland but I live in the deep south of Holland in Maastricht where I have my studio.
Your style in 3 words?
Homespun, dreamy, opaque
Your weakness? Your strength?
Wanting too much at the same time/endurance
What makes you different?
I don’t feel different everybody is a little different.
When did you decide to become an artist? When I was 7 maybe I always knew. There was just no question about it.
A few words about your favorite creation?
I do not have a favorite one…but maybe the new ones I am excited about making..that is a thrilling feeling…but I do look back to learn from my former ones.
What surprised you most about your first art shows?
They change you…every time. As soon as your work is in a show it becomes more real somehow.
Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…Kai Althoff, Jean Brusselmans, Laura Owens. Who would you like to work with someday and why? I would love to paint a movie décor for Tilda Swinton. Because she is a weird beauty.
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
I am working on making a book about my paintings and drawings.
2023: Where are we going?
There is something about the next year every year I guess….I am not sure if it will be different.
Do you think about time as an artist?
Yes, I do…but painting is a completely different time realm, there are different rules and you cannot rush anything.
When the going gets tough…
…mostly I do sports and sometimes I get drunk.
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, and what will our world look like in 50 years?
I think we are all dead but I hope it is just not true and a miracle radical angel environment hunter is coming to save us. I really got my hopes up!
What would you do if you could change the World?
Replace all world leaders with animals.
What does freedom mean when it comes to art? Freedom is everything for an artist a deep gasping realm if you use it right.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
Into something way too big for me to comprehend…even though we are all part of it …maybe somewhere deep down we know.
Tell us about your future plans…
I am working on making a book about my artwork and of course painting, painting, and painting.
Your city’s favorite spots?
Bonnefanten Museum, Marres, Jan Van Eyck Academy the brandweer kantine, café Zondag, traders pop.
Last but not least: what is your favorite Song?
It changes but at the moment: (I want to live on an ) Abstract Plain by Frank Black
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
Art! For Sure! But I love wood too
Your #…?
