Tara van Gent is a visual artist mainly focused on the medium of painting. Born in the Netherlands (1999) and raised in the rural west of Ireland, she is currently based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Artist statement
In my current work I am interested in how we look at the world around us. It is the intangible and ambiguous that intrigues me. Light reflects off of surfaces, our own surroundings stare back at us from dirty window panes once dusk starts to fall outside, dust motes sparkle on blank television screens. Through a window, the outside and the inside merge to create a new, personal yet universal, environment.
How is the way through which we look at the world changing? In our modern society that is filled with things viewed through screens, be it through the all-glass facade of a house, a phone screen, or a television – what kind of effect could this have, not only on the way we relate to visual art, but to the way we relate to the notion of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ in general? These are some of the questions keeping me occupied.
My paintings are an exploration of colours and shapes viewed through an abstract, and at times exaggerated lens. An attempt at identification remains unavoidable. My paintings are also an exploration of painting itself. In an image-saturated environment, I am thinking about the role pictorial art and the creation of images may play.
Education
2018-2022 – Bachelor of Fine Art, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, NL.
2021 – Vilnius Academy of Arts (spring semester exchange), LT.
2017-2018 – QQI Level 5 Art Portfolio Preparation Course, Galway Technical Institute, IRL.
Exhibitions
Upcoming – KABK Graduation show 2022
Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, The Hague, NL
1-5 July 2022
2021 – As Is, Where Is
KABK Fine Arts Pre-Graduation Exhibition, Verheeskade 321, The Hague, NL
10-12 December
2020 – Home Fires Burning – Westival
Virtual Exhibition, Westport, IRL
21-26 October
2018 – GTI Student Exhibition
Dominican Sports Hall, Claddagh, Galway, IRL
24-30 May