Mark Seelen

About the Work

Dutch Masters

We are only too happy to be taken in by Mark Seelen’s lavish bouquets and fruit arrangements. His opulent tables are draped in a classical style, but with deliberate deviations from those of traditional still lifes. Our preconceptions are challenged in a playful, surprising way. Seelen builds a bridge between the Flemish Masters of the 17th Century and contemporary photography using sensual compositions with artistic lighting.

Slowly but surely, Seelen’s carefully composed pieces reveal their secrets, and we identify details that break from the structure of a classical 17th Century still life. In “Still Life with Roses,” the lemons are wrapped in protective packaging; in “Flower Still Life,” an electric cable runs down the side of the table and a modern radiator hides in the background. Each of the works in the series “Dutch Masters” contains these subtle contemporary details. The artist is creating a unique, modern interpretation of the still life: a topsy-turvy world of temptation and curiosity.

About the Artist

In 1990, Mark Seelen moved to Amsterdam to learn his trade as assistant to various renowned photographers. In New York a few years later, he began his career as a professional photographer – with immediate success. Clients such as Vanity Fair, Vogue Living, Sony, and Mercedes Benz were impressed by his sophisticated work. Seelen’s approach in these artistic, free-flowing pieces developed parallel to his professional photography to produce a distinct, painterly style.

Hannah Hör