Almost 10 years ago a young guy entered the GO Gallery.
He made graffiti, on walls and roofs, on canvases and in fact on everything where he could spray graffiti.
Ard Doko was his name, and wanted to exhibit at the GO Gallery, because they did graffiti there, he heard ...
Ard was advised by us to continue painting and to come back in a few years.
Years later, Ard Doko did indeed return.
His career rocketed.
The artist from Callantsoog exhibits frequently in the US and Europe. In 2015, Doko exhibited in Museum De Fundatie. Nick and Simon invited 12 Dutch artists to be inspired by the songs on their new album. Magnificent!
He has developed himself and his painting rapidly. Ard created and improved his own style, something he is still working on.
His style is melancholic, dark and psychedelic with multiple layers of interpretation, and themes ranging from the beauty of life to death and destruction.
In an interview he said: "My style is often explosive and chaotic, just like me."
His new collection of paintings is called "Between Pain and Pleasure".
The collection is a tribute to the conflict between mind and heart that perhaps everyone has experienced in his life. Like abstract art, love is hard to understand and create, but when it is achieved, it will stand the test of time. In this exhibition the artist combines his love for Russian abstract art (from artists such as Malevich and Kandinksy) with his personal diary, and thoughts and expectations for the future. The works are all inspired by the people he met during his life, or stories about people dear to him. With these exhibitions, he hopes to prove to the skeptics in love that it is wrong, and also to give a reality check to those who dream of romantic Disney miracles.
