ABOUT
Coen Blankwaard started his artistic career in 1986 as an Art Director at an advertising agency. In 1991 he started his own advertising agency. Creating images and telling stories is what he does. To have an outlet for his daily commercial activities he went to see what else was possible, so in 1996 he decided to start painting.
Expression with paint was a true discovery for him, he could create completely new dimensions and tell his stories layer upon layer. This was a success. He was asked by several galleries to exhibit his work. In 2012, he became one of the in-house artists of the renowned furniture brand Leolux, culminating in his own design for a chair, table and rug. These were introduced on the Milan Furniture Fair. Nowadays Coen also makes objects. The Coeneman is a prime example of this. This alter-ego of the artist has been translated into a metal sculpture. The Coeneman carries a suitcase and has a powerful backbone, it is the story of Coen.
Perfect imperfection
Recently, Coen started creating collages as well. These collages, made with paper, are constructed and composed of clippings from magazines, tabloids, and his own photographs. This practice is close to his roots as a graphic artist and advertising executive. He calls them “perfect imperfection”. New people arise who, through this style, start to lead a life of their own and acquire a new identity. The imperfect image becomes perfect once more. You can see these images on his Instagram account.
