Sketch with BIC pens in Delft blue style

Arno Coenen designed twelve plates: six large and six small, with titles such as Narco State, Denim & Leather and Seasons in the Abyss – very detailed drawings made with a simple BIC ballpoint pen, on which he worked on average for a week per image.
Coenen likes to combine an old technique such as Delft blue with modern techniques. “Delft blue is a strong medium”, he says about this. “Even abroad, they immediately know with such a picture: the Netherlands.”

Coenen works in a wide variety of media: from video art and 3D animation to stained glass windows, mosaics and ceramics. His work often ties in with (outspoken) contemporary subcultures, such as hooliganism, heavy metal, martial arts culture and the underground.
Anyone who does not know the name Arno Coenen will undoubtedly know his work. Such as the large-scale, colorful ceiling of the Rotterdam Markthal, which he designed together with Iris Roskam. His tile panel Oud-West, Thuis Best was included in the collection of the Rijksmuseum and his computer-generated video animations are included in important collections of media art, including that of the Center Pompidou in Paris.