Pudong Subway Station in Shanghai, 2024

Frank De Blok   New & remarkable Artists

Frank de Blok, born near Amsterdam on June 8, 1956, is an artist-creator who has a rather particular background which has brought him all the elements which form the domain of his particular vision of the world.

…Frank the promising 'self-taught' beginner…

In short, in 1986, after his master's degree in economics, instead of choosing a career in finance or industry, he started an industrial design office 'De Blok Innovation' in the Netherlands. He worked (among others) for brands like Fokker, Miele, Villeroy & Boch, KLM, Toshiba Medical and AKZO Nobel (Oganon, Levis', Sikkens).

...Mastery and maturation…

His activities evolved towards architecture and the creation of commercial concepts (stores, offices and exhibitions at fairs) for major brands such as Rituals, Nijhof, Levi's, Jean Louis David, Maletti and others.

...Final Destination - Creative Liberation…

All this essential journey to show Frank de Blok what his place should be in the world and in free art. In 2001, after a 15-year career in design and architecture, he moved to Normandy, first to Cabourg and in 2014 to Honfleur, to develop his art.

...Perspectivism…

The common thread in all his abstract and figurative creations is the position of the creator (and consequently of the viewer) in front of the art object, whether on canvas or in space, the perspective and the vanishing lines sometimes troubling and always surprising, which is why art critics have labeled him 'the perspectivist' and at the head of a new artistic movement 'perspectivism'.

...a preview of the work…

Frank's work is mostly urban and architectural and given his background it is an obvious consequence to find industrial subjects in the marine too, abstract and figurative but always with these surprising points of view that allow us to see our world with another look, his look as he transmits it.

...techniques…

Frank de Blok works in oil and acrylic paint, in Indian ink and acrylic ink and in mixed techniques on canvas frames, on canvases and tarpaulins, on paper and wood. In his three-dimensional creations he uses various materials and very varied mixed techniques (using sound, light and multimedia) when he makes installations / performances.

The best known are the paintings on canvas, whose dimensions vary between 40 centimeters and 3 meters.

...collectors…

Since his debut in free art in 2001, his work has resonated with more than 950 collectors in France and around the world (the United States, China, Australia, Singapore and all of Europe) These are mainly private collectors and communities (regional and municipal councils in France, Holland and China).

...exhibitions and performances…

Frank is also known for his performances that give him the platform and the opportunity to communicate directly with a live audience. It is his greatest pleasure to create gigantic works in a defined time, a few hours or a day, which he has done in Cabourg (cabourg64bits 2017 1.8 x 6.4 m, 8 hours), in Shanghai (SH2power6, 2018, 2 x 8 m, 8 hours), in Pierrefitte s Seine (full-color partition, 2019, 2 x 5.5 m in 3 hours), in Xi-An in China (road &belt 2019, 2 x 8 m in 2 days), in Paris (New '20's', 2020, mural 40 m square in 2 days) and during an exhibition opening in Paris (in 3 hours) and since then three more times in Honfleur.

He often uses performance to launch an exhibition (as he always does in China).

Frank is planning an event and exhibition in Shanghai and Suzhou that will combine 3D installation, projection, sound and live painting, for 2025