Kees Rijken

Kees Rijken, Bergen (North Holland). The seaside artists’ village that inspired his new series. After nearly forty years in advertising as an art director and creative director—working at agencies such as BvH Rotterdam, Publicis, Ogilvy, McCann, and Locomotive—his path to Bergen led him to the darkroom. Rijken continues to work on commission, but notices that free, autonomous work is taking up an increasingly larger place in his practice.

In my latest photography project, I explore the harmonious connection between the natural beauty of the landscape surrounding Bergen and the female body. Where nature and humanity meet, my vision of beauty and vulnerability unfolds.

The soft lines of the female body blend elegantly with the rough textures of the natural surroundings of Bergen. In these images, where boundaries blur and the lines of the human form embrace nature, a new image emerges: a poetic dialogue between body and landscape.