When walking into the space where Stan’s work was exhibited during the graduation show of HKU we were overwhelmed by his work! An enormous painting of a bright red horse against a turquoise blue background. It brings an immediate smile to your face. Stan paints animals and objects in a  somewhat naive style, using oil paint an crayon to create his often out of proportion images that triggers a happy emotion with the viewers. Here is our selection of three of his works, but there is more. If you like his style make an appointment to visit his studio through our like in bio.

Artist´s statement

Horses, dogs, dots, and bright colors fill the canvases of Stan Molenaar. At first sight, his
works seem cheerful. Nevertheless, when you look longer, it becomes apparent that a
melancholic feeling also emanates from his works. Molenaar is interested in how people
avoid showing their actual emotions. Especially in the online world, happiness often seems like a facade. He magnifies elements that we associate with happiness in such a way that cheerfulness can also be questioned. Thereby the works balance on a thin line between actual cheerfulness and pretense, something that Molenaar does not construct in advance but arises during the act of painting itself.

Within his strong visual language, Molenaar embraces the imperfection and naivety that
lurks beneath. On top of those layers, his work also contains humor. By playing with the
composition and shape of the image he seeks the interface, in which his images in relation to the canvas just begin to teeter.

text: Hagar Schuringa