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master master
PRIzE OF ExCELLENCE / AwARD OF DISTINCTION. meDIaL 2. art BIeNNIaL. ONLINE gLOBAL ART BIENNIAL [2007] artaDDICtION.Net
HERMAN SMORENbURG

Lives and works in Alkmaar, The Netherlands

SEARCH THE ARTIST ONLINE www.hermansmorenburg.com

Dutch painter Herman Smorenburg was born in Alkmaar on the seventh of June 1958. At an early
age Herman, who grew up with two brothers and one sister, was fascinated by the possibility of
expressing his imagination by drawing and painting. when he reached the age of fifteen, a major
development took place in his inner life which drove him to tread a path which he has followed
until today: the great search into the mysteries of consciousness and the exploration of its hidden
dimensions. Although Herman had already developed a great sensitivity to the beauty and the
immensity of nature, and although some aesthetic experiences with nature had already settled in
the chambers of his subconscious mind, the discovery and use of psychedelic drugs expanded his
consciousness and intensified  reVeLatION, 2004 OIL ON wOOD 56,5x34,5 IN. / 144x88 CM.
his experiences. Life, with
all its hidden dimensions
and possibilities, started to
reveal itself to Herman as
an unimaginable adventure,
in which he had just made
his first steps. At this stage,
visual art that examines the
deeper experience of reality
by way of images and symbols,
began to have a tremendous
impact on the young artist’s
mind. The confrontation with
Salvador Dali’s surrealistic art
and the imaginative worlds
of the famous Dutch artists
Carel willink and Johfra left
imprints in Herman’s young
 tHe DIsCOVerY 2, 2005 OIL ON wOOD 45,5x34 IN. / 116x87 CM. and susceptible mind, which,
in the course of time ripened
and developed into his own magical dream worlds. These imprints, furthermore, laid
the foundations for his study of classical oil painting techniques consisting of applying
transparant colour layers over a monochrome underpainting. The encounter with eastern
and western mystical traditions also contributed to the development of his creative
imagination and sensitivity to the power of symbols. After completing his secondary
teacher training course in Amsterdam, Herman lived a contemplative life in England
for some time. He preferred it to a life as a teacher of arts and crafts at a secondary
school. while in England, he visited the special exhibition of the Pre-Raphaelites and
their contemporaries at the London Tate gallery. For several years, the paintings of the
English masters shown at this exhibition greatly affected the work of the young Dutch
painter. Until today, the love of craftsmanship and the poetic ability of British nineteenth
century art remains a great source of inspiration to him.‘The English period’ also had a
major influence on Smorenburg’s private life. He met his wife in England and after some
time they moved to Holland. They started a family and for nearly fifteen years he worked
as a teacher, a profession that he retreated from some years ago. Today, he works as
a full-time painter.
Meanwhile Herman Smorenburg contributed to several exhibitions throughout the
Netherlands, and plans for the realization of a museum for imaginative realistic art in
the Netherlands could be of tremendous importance to his artistic career.
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