Paul Faassen

Birds are more like us than we think. They get worked up, can lie, and warn their own kind. Some love tidying up, while others make tools for difficult tasks. But do they ever have fun? Are they proud or grumpy? Little can be read from their birdlike faces. Yet, we suspect they’re all sorts of things going on inside them. Paul Faassen (Arnhem, 1967) is fascinated by the relationship between humans and animals and has captured hundreds of birds in watercolor. As static and silent as they are depicted, they simultaneously burst with emotion. Faassen encourages every visitor to imagine human thoughts and feelings about the birds. In the Studio C studio, you can then create and exhibit your own bird.

Studio C x Paul Faassen is the first in a series of participatory projects by Studio C, the educational studio of Museum Kranenburgh where you can get hands-on.

Paul Faassen

Paul Faassen studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tilburg. He has worked as a freelance illustrator for Elle, Quote, Vrij Nederland, NRC, the VPRO Guide, and other magazines since 1995. His visual columns appear in Volkskrant Magazine and De Morgen. Paul Faassen lectures at the Utrecht School of the Arts. “Niets meer aan doen” (Nothing more to do) was his debut book, and he has since published several others. For the past few years, he has been working on the bird project, which has also included the book “Eh…,” a collection of his own bird watercolors.