Igor Lenting grew up in two countries: The Netherlands during autumn, winter and spring, and Croatia during the summers. Being in between two cultures, he noticed the obsessive behaviour of the Dutch middle class to work 9 to 5 jobs, only to end up on a plastic chair at a plastic pool somewhere sunny. Every summer. Over and over again. Intrigued by this phenomenon, Igor started to depict these so-called perfect 21st century holidays. In order to mimic you have to exaggerate.

Traveling back and forth between two countries also made Igor appreciate the differences in light, saturation, and shadows. In Croatia, shadows are darker, colors are sometimes excessively vibrant, and buildings are often pastel-colored. In The Netherlands the colors are within a spectrum of grey tones, earth tones and primaries. This contrast has made Igor’s work more shamelessly colorful.

But don’t let the lively vibrancy fool you: Igor is critical of what he calls the ‘plasticized life’ that leaves people inconsiderate of the world around them. The nature and culture that surrounds the hotels of the poolside vacationers are ignored, as if all that you need is centered at that one plastic pool. While in fact the sounds of nearby nature, and the appreciation of everyday sights and colors are what makes life worthwhile.

Igor Lenting (1996, NL/CR) has attended the HKU in Utrecht and recently started a bachelors in History at the University of Amsterdam. The scenes he paints are fictional and his compositions are developed on the go. Because Igor works fast and puts his ideas straight onto the canvas, he only paints with acrylic. His work is often inspired by his childhood summers spent in Croatia, where his mother was born.

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