Craving a unique creative outlet of his own since childhood, Diederik Van Apple has successfully constructed a recognizable art style combining cartoon characters and a personal take on consumerism.
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Diederik Van Apple was born and raised in Leiden, Netherlands in 1985. Comic books such as Tintin, Marvel Universe, Walt Disney’s works and legendary movies such as The Godfather, Scarface, Pulp Fiction and James Bond were a staple during his childhood. He loved watching, reading and fully going up in the stories, as if he was part of the play himself.
After trying out Law School in 2003 for two years, he realized that that career path was not giving him the creative outlet he craved, so he decided to stop. Immediately after leaving law school, he started working as an Art Representative at an Art Gallery in Amsterdam, which allowed him to travel around the world participating in art fairs and getting introduced to the world he passionately wished to be part of.
With his experience, artistic insight, and passion for art he started to think of designs for his own creations, combining the fantasy he had always admired as a child, with the artistic vibes he had absorbed during the previous years. There was no line between work and free time, and he started to build up unlimited results of digital mix-media art. After his first launch in 2017 he made several series of limited editions, which were sold out in no time.
This was the beginning of Van Apple’s artworks and his career. He took his time for 6 months and kept on bringing out amazing new series. After his latest releases, he decided to change environments in search of new inspiration, and decided to move to Ibiza, which proved a great success for him.
His art is a combination of digital techniques, which he seamlessly blends with famous characters that he loyally takes from his childhood comic obsessions. The basis of his art is aluminum or gold foil, over which he adds holograms, colors, gliders, diamonds, and all kinds of handcrafted items. Once the composition is laid and the work done, he finishes it by hand with several layers of epoxy, which successfully bind the creative and unique mixed-media techniques he has mastered. His artworks achieve an intriguing and fantastic 3D effect, which has helped make Diederik Van Apple a worldwide success between international galleries, art lovers and investors.
Netherlands- based gallery CJS, offers a wide selection of original paintings, sculptures, artworks, giclées, mixed-media art and photographic art in various price ranges from emerging and well-known artists.
Cover image: Diederik Van Apple, Scrooge Amex, 2022. Courtesy of CJS Gallery
Written by: Zara Colombo
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