Anne-Claire Engels – Micky Hoogendijk: Celebrating Sunlight and Transition at Catherine Couturier Gallery

starts on 30 Apr 2015,
ends on 30 Apr 2015

Catherine Couturier Gallery
2635 Colquitt Street, Houston, TX, United States

Catherine Couturier Gallery welcomes Dutch artist Micky Hoogendijk to Houston on Thursday, April 30, from 6-8 pm for one night only! Famed Dutch actress Hoogendijk will be in attendance to discuss her transition from in front of the lens to behind it, her passion for art, and her desire to capture vulnerability in her subjects. A special selection of works will be on exhibit entitled ‘Celebrating Sunlight and Transition’, an ode to the work, which is all captured using natural light, and to the artist herself.

Micky Hoogendijk
Art has always been an essential part of Micky Hoogendijk. Born in Amsterdam July 8, 1970, Hoogendijk grew up immersed in an international environment of art; surrounded by artists, art dealers, theater makers, actors and dancers. Her grandfather, Dirk Hoogendijk, was one the most successful art dealers in The Netherlands in the last century. He used his perceptive eye to enrich many museums, including the Rijksmuseum, with the works of the Dutch Masters. As a young girl, Hoogendijk also spent many hours in the painting workshop of her father, the painter Roelof Frankot, who began as a photographer before moving his focus to abstract art.

As a young adult in the 90s, a time when postmodernism was just revealing itself, Hoogendijk was in the center of the Amsterdam and International art scene as both the wife and business partner of famous postmodern artist Rob Scholte. Only in her 20s, she ran the company Rob Scholte BV and was project manager of the prestigious and ambitious work Après nous le deluge, a wall and ceiling painting of 1,200 square meters in Nagasaki, Japan.

Later, Hoogendijk turned her attention further to business and entertainment and, as creative director of Supperclub, was actively involved in the international expansion of that renowned brand.

In her versatile career you will also find Hoogendijk in front of the camera. As a model, she posed for important Dutch designers like Mart Visser; as an actor, she appeared in European and US films and TV series.

She played the role of of Cleo de Wolf in the Dutch TV series Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden for two years, before leaving for Los angeles to study method acting at the academy of the master teacher Eric Morris. She worked alongside Kate Hudson (in Raising Helen) and Rutger Hauer, and she lent her appearance and behaviors as inspiration for Luger, the main character in the video game Killzone. All the while, she appeared in multiple Dutch programs and films and, in 2008, was awarded “Best Actress in a Feature Film” at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival for her role in Blind-spot.

In 2009, Hoogendijk received a last gift from her ailing mother: a professional still camera. The gift would change her career forever. Two months later, her mother passed away, and she moved with Adam Curry to San Francisco, where she discovered the majestic lines and architecture of the city through the eye of the camera. By 2010, living and working again in Los Angeles, Hoogendijk discovered her gift for artistic portraits, and she is now working in the artists’ haven of Austin, Texas.

Hoogendijk’s photographic work has since appeared in Art Platform Los Angeles 2012, E- merge Art Fair in Washington DC and the Contemporary Art Fair in Istanbul, where she has garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success.

Nurtured by the life of the international art world and memories of the Old Dutch masters such as Vermeer and Rembrandt, Hoogendijk takes the beholder on a journey into her universe: a dynamic and inspiring realm where visual arts, technology and theater melt together into photography.

Hoogendijkʼs work is characterized by sharp iconic images that deeply touch your soul. With her camera she enchants with lighting, and her images often contain religious and mythical themes as well as daily scenes. At the core of her work lies a quest for the majesty of vulnerability–an image without embellishment that captures the powerful essence of naked emotion. This theme is prominent in her recent portrait series Regal of 2012.

21 Apr 2015

http://www.dutchcultureusa.com/blog/2300/micky-hoogendijk-celebrating-sunlight-and-transition-at-catherine-couturier-gallery