ReCollection 8

Born to the city of Leiden in Netherlands, Casper Faassen shares the birthplace with some of the greatest Dutch artists that have ever lived, including Rembrandt, Dou and van Goyen. Having met with the work of one of these artists that will inspire him for the rest of his career, Faassen’s awe with art started at the age of 7 when he saw Rembrandt’s The Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In an attempt to reproduce what he witnessed that day, he had devoted his efforts and obvious talent to mastering the skill of artistic portrayal. Coming upon a crossroad early in his path of an artist, Faassen expressed doubt after high school, uncertain of what to do with his love for art and the practice he had developed. Following a differently paved road, he had studied communication science at the University of Amsterdam, yet chose to return to painting in 2002, devoting himself completely. Casper's unique style, mixing photography and painted layers in his work and juxtaposing subject (beauty) with form (decay), has gained praise from critics as well as the public. His work has been exhibited at numerous international art fairs such as Photo Basel, Photo London, Unseen & PAN Amsterdam. His work is featured in private as well as public collections such as the Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), Museum de Lakenhal (Leiden) and the Dutch Royal Library (The Hague). Recently, Fotografiska Museum in Stockholm and Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis in Leiden hosted solo exhibits of Faassen’s work. His ‘view on The Hague’ and ‘view on Dordrecht’ were featured next to Jan van Goyen’s original masterpieces in the The Hague Historical Museum and the Dordrecht Museum respectively.