The Artist And The Others

Cultural connector

A cup of entrepreneurship with… Atelier Tenk

Can you tell us something about yourself?
We are Atelier Tenk. Our names are Tom van der Pijl and Kenny Jacobs. We’re two friends and creators who work together and against each other through illustration and art. We’ve done a few murals for big clients and work on commission once in a while. For most of the time, we try to make images we love. Sometimes quite literally and sometimes more abstract. We studied together at Sint Joost in Breda and later Kenny graduated as an art teacher at Fontys hogeschool voor de kunsten in Tilburg. In our

In our paintings, we start off with both of us setting a line. Taking turns, adding lines and shapes to what has added the other. Sometimes we make contradicting lines and sometimes we try to complement each other. Tom is the artistic mastermind with a touch of chaos and Kenny is the orderly peace with innovative ideas. We collaborate while counteracting each other on the canvas. It’s fairly common for us to disagree on things. You could call it a contradictory collaboration.

What do you consider your distinctive achievement?
That’s a hard question. I think one of the things we are very proud of is the mural we made for Interpolis. The end result wasn’t the best we’ve had, but the compliment of working for such a big company, the proces of making it and the size are an achievement on itself. We learned a lot on that project. Such as: Don’t be afraid to create. Our way of working and the images we make because of this proces is unique, and therefore it might be our biggest achievement so far.
Working together is sometimes really hard, but it makes us better, and more critical in our work. A few years back we’ve made a painting on 1,20 m x1,20 m wood panel  which we haven’t topped yet. It’s one of the works we’re most proud of. It’s an explosion of shapes and lines en not one person sees the same shapes as another.

A few years back we’ve made a painting on 1,20 m x1,20 m wood panel which we haven’t topped it yet. It’s one of the works we’re most proud of. It’s an explosion of shapes and lines and not one person sees the same shapes as another.

What are you looking forward to?
We want to share our enthusiasm for creating images with everyone. We’re planning to do workshops and courses for people who are curious and want to see more. In our opinion people forget to look around and see the beauty in everything around them. Something we value highly. It doesn’t matter if you can draw or paint or not. Everyone can make something beautiful if you try not to judge too much. In the near future we are going to share this insight. We’re also looking forward to the future. What kind of development our ‘art’ will make through the years. If we think about the things we’ve achieved in 2,5 years, the future looks bright indeed.
What advice would you give other professionals?

Our biggest advice is this: Don’t judge yourself, judge your work. One of the hardest things in our opinion is not to judge yourself during your process of creating. Of course you can critisize your own work and look to each other with a sharp eye. But don’t be to harsh on yourself and always go one step further. If you’re not satisfied, take one more step. You will never know what comes next if you do not make that step. Judging yourself as a person is not a good thing. You’re not bad or incapable if your work doesn’t satisfy you. It’s just your work that’s not yet on the right level. And it only gets to that level if you keep going on. Although it is good to doubt your choices and work, never make yourself insecure. Never make yourself afraid of the black pages. Oh, and never say never…

What are the challanges that we need to come to make about cultural entrepreneurship more accessible?

Another question not easily answered. And especially not by us. It is just to big a question. We kind of have a love and hate relationship with the world of art. During the years it became more elite and difficult to penetrate by young new artists. We ourselves encountered this a few times. In our opinion an image, painting, digital drawing can just be beautiful. It is allowed to not have a deep meaning. Nowadays people need to have an explanation for everything they do. But whats wrong with just wanting to make something awesome? Of course we value a good concept, but if the image is unattractive or plainly ugly, people don’t to look at it. (Although this thought might just be your concept..)

The line between the world you live in and the arts is just not visible. For example: Kenny became a teacher because he thinks children need to open up, be curious en explore. He wants them to know that the whole world they live in is designed. From the colors and patterns on the school floor to the interior of the cantine, to the games they play. Even the gardens of the retirement home of their grandparents are designed by someone. If the creative people weren’t around the world, it would have been a dull functional place. If we make this link visible for everyone, the arts and all others cultural things would be more appreciated.

This is a battle of all times though. Throughout the whole modern art history you see this struggle. We think it will always remain. But it is our duty as creators to open up the eyes of the people and let them see the value of cultural entrepreneurship. An accountant might not value art itself, but if there was never any art to be seen, he would not sit on is highly expensive design chair, behind his victorian style desk. (Ok, we might generalize a bit, but we hope you get the point.)