The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the recognizable to create something unfamiliar.
Each two-dimensional work begins with a photo captured by a deep-space telescope. Despite their photographic realism, “these beautiful images of outer space are not real,” says Fokkens. “They are contrived to show us some utopian sci-fi landscape — as though one could stare at them from a field of grass on a nearby planet. What is real is the sense of wonder they emit.” Colorized to convey depth and scale, such images have already been altered to make impossible sights more easily consumable.
With the aid of custom algorithms, Fokkens further manipulates the “fake pixels” of these images, extracting qualities such as pattern, form, and color. He then hand-paints these abstracted qualities as isolated points on canvas. Despite his methodical process, his paintings honor a romantic sense of beauty and capture the sense of longing and wonder one feels when they look out at the stars.
Inspired by early non-representational art, Fokkens treats his abstractions as a means of manipulating reality. Up-close, they might remind us of modernist paintings by the likes of Seurat or Mondrian. There is movement in the still image – moments within the composition that shift in and out of sight, that obscure and reveal the longer you look. Endlessly generating new experiences of perspective, Fokkens’s paintings challenge our perceptions and allow us to peer into other worlds.
Find original Jan Pieter Fokkens paintings on 1stDibs.
"E0102-72.3, " Pigment Ink on Photo Paper
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within his seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the recognizable to create something unfamiliar. Each work begins with a colorized photo captured by a deep-space...
Ink, Photographic Paper
$6,380 / set
“Weird Adventure” by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qualities of pattern and color, Fokkens meditates on how we as viewers negotiate our realities. Entitled "Weird Adventure," this diptych depicts a still from the Italian Classic film...
Canvas
"NGC-3201, " Pigment Ink on Paper
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qualities of pattern and color, Fokkens meditates on how reality is mediated by digital image. Entitled "NGC-3201," this vibrant drawing offers a representation of the globular cluster NGC-3201. Using an image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope...
Archival Ink, Photographic Paper
"Study for SWEEPS, " Pigment Ink on Canvas, 2018
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Canvas, Ink
"Study for Tarantula Nebula, " Acrylic on Canvas
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Entitled "Study for Tarantula Nebula," this painting by Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens offers a representation of the gigantic star-forming region of the same name. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, nearly 160,000 light years from earth, it's the birthplace of an astonishing number of massive stars, some roughly 100 times the mass of the Sun. Inspired by telescope images of deep space, contemporary computer compression algorithms and early non-representational art...
Canvas, Acrylic
"Study for SWEEPS" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Canvas
"Study for Caldwell 49" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Paint, Canvas
"Study for Tarantula Nebula" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Entitled "Study for Tarantula Nebula," this painting by Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens offers a representation of the gigantic star-forming region of the same name. Located ...
Canvas
"Study for SWEEPS" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Inspired by images of deep space, computer compression algorithms, and early non-representational art, Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses the tangible qualities of pattern and color to interpret unimaginable sights. Entitled "Study for SWEEPS," this work offers a representation of the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search, Hubble’s seven-day-long survey of 180,000 stars in order to detect extrasolar planets. Using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope...
Paper
"Study for Event Horizon" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Inspired by images of deep space, computer compression algorithms, and early non-representational art, Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses the tangible qualities of pattern ...
Paper
"E0102-72.3" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within his seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes t...
Paper
"NGC-6397" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qual...
Paper
"NGC-3201" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qualities of pattern and color, Fokkens meditates on how reality is mediated by digital image. Entitled "NGC-3201," this vibrant drawing offers a representation of the globular cluster NGC-3201. Using an image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble...
Paper
"Study for Caldwell 49, " Acrylic on Canvas, 2021
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within his seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes t...
Canvas, Acrylic
"The Adventure II, " Archival Marker on Canvas, 2019
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qualities of pattern and color, Fokkens meditates on how we as viewers negotiate our realities. Entitled "The Adventure II," this vibrant drawing depicts a still from the Italian classic film...
Canvas, Archival Ink
"NGC-6397, " Pigment Ink on Paper
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qualities of pattern and color, Fokkens meditates on how reality is mediated by digital image. Entitled "NGC-6397," this vibrant drawing offers a representation of the globular cluster NGC-6397, also known as Caldwell 87, located 7,800 light-years from Earth. Using an image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope...
Archival Ink, Photographic Paper
"The Adventure, " Archival Ink on Canvas, 2019
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
Chicago-based artist Jan Pieter Fokkens uses his work as a means of processing the incomprehensible. Navigating the relationship between algorithmic abstraction and the tangible qualities of pattern and color, Fokkens meditates on how we as viewers negotiate our realities. Entitled "The Adventure," this vibrant drawing depicts a still from the Italian classic film...
Archival Ink, Canvas
"Study for Event Horizon, " Archival Ink on Paper, 2020
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Archival Ink, Photographic Paper
"Study for SWEEPS, " Pigment Ink on Photo Paper
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the recognizable to create something unfamiliar. Each work begins with a colorized photo captured by a deep-space telescope...
Ink, Photographic Paper
Painting "Ritratto a un solo tratto" by Enzio Wenk, 2001
By Enzio Wenk
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Marker on paper.
Paper
Paper Collage by Knute Stiles, 1961
By Knute Stiles
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Knute Stiles-painter, art critic and poet was born in Minnesota in 1923 and died in Tuscon, Arizona in 2009. He attended the St. Paul Art School and later...
Paper
French Surrealism Lithograph manner of Dali by B.A.G. Guillot
Located in Miami, FL
Original Surrealism Black and White Lithograph An intriguing piece of art piece signed B.A.G. Guillot. This is a limited edition number 1/25, and E.A. or epreuve d'artiste. Guillo...
Paper
Large Abstract Drawing by G. Bradshaw-Smith
By Gillian Bradshaw-Smith
Located in NYC, NY
A large fine pastel drawing of an abstract figure from the Cordier and Ekstrom Gallery, Madison Avenue, New York by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith.
Paper
$4,500
H 6.25 in W 4.5 in
Burton Wasserman - Untitled early 1960s Geometric Abstraction, Signed, Framed
By Burton Wasserman
Located in New York, NY
Burton Wasserman - Untitled early 1960s Geometric Abstraction Oil pastel on tracing paper Hand signed on the front This work has been framed in a museum quality white wood frame unde...
Parchment Paper, Oil Pastel
$7,200Sale Price|20% Off
H 78.75 in W 39.38 in D 1.58 in
Black Forest- Abstract contemporary painting on canvas, modern red and black
By Emma Godebska
Located in Dallas, TX
Emma Godebska's artwork is inspired by the Parisian luxury world of fashion, textures and pure color. "Black Forest" is a dramatic and contemporary abstract painting. It is created u...
Acrylic, Pigment, Gesso, Cotton Canvas
$10,164Sale Price|10% Off
H 59 in W 112.1 in D 0.19 in
Large Portuguese Tile Mural "Ladies by the Lake" Hand Painted & Signed by Artist
Located in Baldock, England
Beautiful tile mural with the "LADIES BY THE LAKE" motif finely painted. Quantity: 190 tiles Tile mural size: 59"H X 112.1"W (150cm X 285cm) Tile size: 5.9"H X 5.9"W (15cm X 15cm) ...
Ceramic, Paint, Clay
Line Drawing by Jean Negulesco
By Jean Negulesco
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful continuous black line drawing of a woman by Jean Negulesco. Vintage color serigraph print with blind stamp in corner. New custom maple frame with UV plexi.
Maple, Paper
Woodland Scene with Pan and Three Graces
By A. Gargiulo
Located in Philadelphia, PA
At once fantastical and earthbound, this remarkable drawing depicts three seminude goddesses -- perhaps the Three Graces -- dancing to a tune provided by a nude Pan figure seated on ...
Pencil, Paper
Confetti Resin Wall Art by Paola Valle
By Paola Valle
Located in Ciudad De México, MX
It is a geometric, simple and contemporary piece with a lot of personality. It will add a playful and colorful touch to your kids room. You can hang the piece on a wall or place it ...
Resin
Dusk Resin Art Wall by Paola Valle
By Paola Valle
Located in Ciudad De México, MX
It is a geometric, simple and contemporary piece with a lot of personality that will complement any space. You can hang the piece on a wall or place it on a table and lean it agains...
Resin
Abstract Artwork by Miriam Kubach
By Miriam Kubach
Located in Atlanta, GA
Abstract charcoal drawing by Miriam Kubach, American, circa 1960s. Similar to works by Louise Bourgeois from the same era. It is executed on paper and has been professionally framed ...
Glass, Wood, Paper
"Carina Nebula" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Fabric
CARINA NEBULA
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Canvas, Ink
"Study for NGC-6188" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Paint, Paper
"R136" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Paint, Paper
Study for VFTS-682
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Paper, Acrylic
"VFTS-682" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Paint, Canvas
Study for NGC-6188
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Acrylic, Paper
R136
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Acrylic, Paper
"Study for VFTS-682" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within his seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes t...
Paint, Paper
"Study for NGC-6188" by Jan Pieter Fokkens
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Paint, Paper
Palomar 6
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Canvas, Acrylic
VFTS-682
By Jan Pieter Fokkens
Located in Chicago, IL
The colorful paintings of Jan Pieter Fokkens transport us to distant worlds beyond our comprehension. Within seemingly infinite networks of lines, dots, and crosses, he decodes the r...
Canvas, Acrylic