Danny Foolen (1985) is a visual artist based in the Netherlands. His practice can be seen as a continuous experiment with our perception of space, resulting in minimal, high-impact installations, as well as sculptural objects and photographs.

Perceiving a space requires some sort of framework, and it is this question that intrigues Foolen the most: what are we made to see and believe, when encountering spaces?
To inquire, he creates semi-spaces; wooden structures, based on existing or fictional rooms, from which he then removes certain elements, while challenging ideas of perspective, openness and balance. It is a process of stripping away surplus parts to reveal something essential, hitherto unknown, and puzzling.

Often, doors remain as the only recognisable feature, giving a sense of both familiarity and scale. They are the anchor in an otherwise alienating setting, where the relationship between presence & absence, or materialisation & potential, appears to be oddly unhinged.

Emptiness is a transitory state, especially in cities. Deserted buildings, derelict. Foolen stages the possibilities of this emptiness: Uninhabited, open to anything. Uninhibited like a newborn child. Despite it's temporary nature, an empty space can fuel a sense of timelessness, and this has become a recurring sensation in almost all of his work.

Creating situations from or for multiple vantage points, Foolen is a fan of the unexpected, and playfully allows coincidence to change and inform his own process as much as the viewer's experience. This desire to be surprised and to exceed one's own anticipation makes interacting with his work an enticing trip for the mind.