
This week we connected Lennart de Neef to Raquel van Haver and Raquel to Lennart. They answered each others questions about their favorite color and boundaries.
If you were asked to make an artwork for a roundabout, what would you propose?

That would be definitely something out of my comfort zone. It would be great to create something totally new.

I would go wild with new materials. Something crazy like a reflecting object or a light sculpture should be something I would consider. I would use an enormous amount of light and mirrors so it even would be impossible to draw to the roundabout. That is what I should do.. perhaps one day.. you never know..

What’s your least favorite color?

My least favorite: I don’t have one actually.

I work with colors and it’s super nice when you build up colors with colors and layers and to try to pop shadows and brightness. That’s the beauty of being a painter.

Portrait or landscape? Why?

Let’s say a portrait of a landscape.

Just as a painting of a human being or a figurative abstract painting could be considered a portrait, so can a landscape.


Raquel van Haver, collage from ‘A Shrine of a Deity’ (series, 2017-2018)
What is your main topic when it comes to art and does this also reflect on your personal life? Or isn’t it possible to divide Person Life and Art Life?

My main topic, when it comes to art, is about the conflict between the ‘idea’ and the outcome of this idea in physical form. I’m always thinking about this subject and how it shapes our visual and material environment, so it’s hard to divide personal and artistic life.

About women’s rights & the abolishment of expression. What do you think of the topic where women in the Netherlands are no longer allowed to wear certain types of clothing to express their identity and what should you do when it comes to this in the arts?

Difficult question…

Because it’s also not allowed to walk naked in public, which is also a form of expression for some people.

In my opinion, this is a dilemma between national security and free expression, where is this boundary? I think art has always been a good medium to question this.

About the topic of representation: are there any boundaries in art when it comes to representation of …(subject).

I don’t think there are any boundaries when it comes to the representation of any subject. If you want to express yourself about a subject, you are free to do this. But I do think that the context in which you present it, asks for certain frameworks/boundaries.


Lennart de Neef, ‘cc cf’ (2018)
Tekst: These interviews are part of an ongoing series of short interviews between Unfair artists, originally published through our mailings. Check the overview to read the other interviews or subscribe to our mailing list through the button below:
These interviews are part of an ongoing series of short interviews between Unfair artists, originally published through our mailings. Check the overview to read the other interviews or subscribe to our mailing list through the button below: