Bio
Born 1980 in the Netherlands - immigrated to New Zealand in 1986. Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand. Holds a BFA from Massey University, Wellington (2007).
Arie's current interests are the conventions of portraiture and representations of the human form. Arie is predominantly interested in the process of making and problem solving. The resolution of his works is determined by resolving a series of decisions throughout the painting process, rather than painting a predetermined idea.
Arie Hellendoorn's paintings are wide ranging in the influences they draw from. Although they are eclectic in their final form: geometric abstracts, portraiture, still life or surrealist objects, each work seems to begin its life as a portrait. In many of his abstract works, which seem to focus on crystalline forms and floating hexagonal shapes, one can make out faces or human shapes. [...] He uses imagery from historical paintings as the basis of his compositions. Another method Hellendoorn uses is to take bought or found paintings and layer up paint on top of them changing the work until it is unrecognizable from the original.
Jessica Scott (Strive Towards your Destiny, Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, 2008).