Lenny van Hout:
My name is Lenny van Hout. I am a 22-year-old self-taught artist. I began painting at the age of eighteen during a stay in a mental health clinic, where I was admitted due to suicidal thoughts. There, I received an hour of creative therapy every day. For the first time, I discovered how healing it can be to translate difficult emotions and thoughts into visual form. I had always written poetry, but from that moment on I began to take myself more seriously as an artist. Today, my practice is multidisciplinary: I create visual art, graphic work, installations, performances, music, and spoken word. In addition to my artistic practice, I organize events focused on mental health under the name Moedt . I live with the rare metabolic disorder CDG type 1a and struggled with depression between the ages of fifteen and twenty-two. Through my process of recovery, I came to understand how essential empathy and understanding are especially in a time marked by increasing polarization. With my work, I aim to open up space for these conversations and foster a deeper sense of understanding between people.
Mees van de Voren:
Wednesday at the end of 2023 — one of the most crucial moments in the course of my career.
The morning I woke up full of tension without hearing my alarm. I already knew enough: I had missed the call inviting me to exhibit in a museum.
At sixteen, I dropped out of the school system due to a burnout. During my recovery process, I discovered a passion for drawing. This passion, combined with the urge to prove myself to society after my burnout, led me to declare: “By the time I’m 21, I’ll be making a living from my art.” I was 17 — what an unbelievably big mouth I had. I made that statement to promote my first exhibition. It was a success.
That success led to more paintings, commissions, clothing, collaborations, exhibitions, and even a documentary about my work. In 2022, I was officially living off my art. My goal had been achieved. My life consisted of drinking, girls, and working hard. I felt like a rock star, and I wanted more. From then on, I set a new goal: on my 21st birthday, I would open an exhibition in a museum.
Because of my unhealthy source of energy and overall lifestyle, life caught up with me, and I ended up in another burnout.
I’m still grateful for missing that call — it was the final drop. Things couldn’t go on like that. I went to therapy, got sober, and almost completely stopped creating. Now, at 22, I’ve found my passion for art again and I’m ready to show the visual documentation of these processes once more.
