Dutch Artist Irene Hoff currently lives in Bali and has been in Asia for over 12 years. Asia inspires Irene; it is the everyday nuances of Asian culture and life that she encounters that give her an abundance of subject and creativity. As a contemporary artist, Irene has always had a keen eye for composition, trends and interior but simple daily life gives her endless inspiration.

Irene’s art has an instant impact. The unique blends of modern and traditional culture take art lovers into a mystical world that often only exists in their imagination. There is a wealth of intricate detail in each picture that requires in depth study and often Irene will incorporate a clever surprise or angle that leaves the viewer with a feeling of wonder, mystery, laugher, excitement, longing to see more. It pulls you into a place you love to stay, a break out of the ordinary. Moreover, she challenges you to believe in your imaginary world and make it you own.

Vivid colors and a unique compilation of styles and visual elements, like pictures, cartoons, symbols, signs & words, are often the basis for Irene’s authentic collage-pop-art-kind-of-style. All the paintings are hand painted, often using mixed media of acrylics, oil paints and paper prints. She loves to work with stencils, spray paint, pencils & texture.

Irene is productively working on her series called the World of Weast(WoW), which is based on the riddle from her brother Gong San Ho (Gerard Hoff): “How far do you have to travel from the East to meet the West?” The answer is that you’re already there; it is just a matter of perspective. The World of Weast is all about integrating the best parts of all there is, seen and ‘unseen’, turning it into a world which surpasses reality and fiction. The paintings make you wonder what is real and what isn’t and challenge you to pull it into your own existence. Believe and you will see.

Her latest series Reformation, incorporates shifting energy, creating own awareness and being able to make any wishful change. For this collection Irene uses a mix of powerful woman’s faces, from West & East;the past, present & future; reality& fantasy, all integrated into a new perspective. Each woman facestheir own emotions, feeling so far apart yet all connected, striving for the same goal in life as part of one whole.

‘Art is beautiful if it disrupts your usual thoughts’ R. Sharma