Hello Kenneth, I heard you are based in Rotterdam, Netherlands? Did you grow up there? And how was your childhood?
Yes, I am living in Rotterdam at the moment, for 5 years now. Before I was living in Nijmegen and Armhem. I grew up at the Eastside of the Netherlands, close to the German border in a small village Rijssen close to Enschede. My childhood, what can I say about it, good and bad, not easy at all.
I heard in an interview that you were drawing a lot as a child. At what age and what were you drawing, and were you already painting?
I was drawing all the time when I was young and also at school. I didn’t like school and the learning part. At that time I was drawing birds and trees for myself, it was an escape from reality. Today, it is still like that when I am painting.
When did you paint your first abstract canvas?
I was around 17/18 years old at that time.
With acrylics?
Yes, and also with spray paint.
From which years are the canvas, you send me the pictures of?
From 1991 to 1995.
Did you read comics at that time? Anything that inspired you as a child?
I didn’t read a lot of comics, but when I did, I read the Marvel Comics like Spiderman, Fantastic Four and The Hulk. I often went to the library, checking for art books about painters. I discovered Cobra, Karel Appel, Willem de Kooning, Basquiat, Hundertwasser, Franz Kline, etc.
I was thinking about COBRA, especially Karel Appel, when I saw your work.
Can you tell me what do you like in COBRA’s and in particular in Karel Appel’s work?
The bright colours, the energy, the spontaneity, the freshness and sometimes the darkness as well.
Was somebody in your family an artist?
No, not really.
When and how did you discover graffiti and start to tag or paint outdoors yourself?
Through the movie The Warriors and later Wildstyle and the book Subway art. Later I saw tags and a lot of stuff in the streets of Amsterdam in the 80ies, I was always in Amsterdam and a couple of times in Paris when I was young. I loved being in the streets, and still do now, it is very inspiring for me.
Were there any graffiti writers inspire you at that time?
Futura 2000, Lokiss, Bando, Mode 2, Delta, Shoe, USA crew and the CBS crew, High Pengo Zar from Amsterdam.
Did you connect with the local scene?
Yes, I was part of the local scene.
With what names did you start?
ASY, ASYER, ASYONE.
What style did you practice back then? Wild Style?
No, simple letters. But I preferred the tagging part of graffiti writing at that time, damaging everything and putting your name everywhere.
Were you part of any crews, if yes which ones?
Grave Yard Posse.
Do you still work with letters of your name sometimes? Which one?
No, not at all.
Did you study after school?
I was kicked out of a lot of schools many times. When I was 19 years old, I went to an art school, but I stopped after 3 months. I was too wild at that time.
Are there any modern or contemporary painters that you like and inspire you?
Too many…Herman Brood, Anselm Kiefer, Lucebert, Picasso, Franz Kline, Basquiat, Willem de Kooning and the ones I named already, Hundertwasser or Karel Appel.
How often do you paint outdoors?
Almost every week – if I find a spot.
Do you go paint alone or with others?
Most of the time I go alone, but sometimes with other people.
What techniques do you use?
Spray paint and acrylic wall paint. Now I use everything.
Outdoors, how do you choose the walls and objects you are going to transform? It seems like you are attracted to different kinds of surfaces. Why?
I like to paint in abandoned places or trashy, destroyed walls. I like to play with it. I choose walls where most of the people can’t or dear to paint on it because of the surface: not clean enough or too destroyed for them.
Do you improvise on the surface? Or do you have an idea in mind before going?
No sketch, no plan. I just start and see what happens along the way.
How do you choose your colour palette?
I just take what I have in stock at that moment.
Your works outdoors seem to have a lot of spontaneous energy, rhythm and dynamism, do you paint fast?
Yes, most of the time I am really fast and not thinking too much. I just start and go with the flow and the energy of the moment. I like the freedom and working on intuition.
This spontaneous work guided by intuition reminds me the work by COBRA and Art Brut artists, inspired by children’s drawing because of their great intuition in young age painting abstract. Have you ever worked with children?
Yes, I did many workshops in the last ten years with children. Like with the project Hospitality Club in the Netherlands. I like how free children can express themselves, especially before they go to school, are in the system, where they often lose this total freedom of expression they had before.
What is the most important for you about abstract compositions?
If the demons in my head are ok with it, I don’t ask myself too many questions, then I am in a balance, (if I paint by myself).
What do you mean by: I don’t ask too many questions / if I paint by myself?
I mean, if there are not many questions in my head from the demons, then the painting is OK for me. If not, then the process, the struggle continues until everything is in a balance in my head. You sometimes win, or sometimes you lose.
What is more important for you, the painting process or the final work?
I enjoy both of it.
Do you see yourself as an Abstract Expressionist?
Hm, I think so, when I read the definition.
Do you see your wall paintings as pieces like graffiti pieces?
No, not really. Nowadays, it can be, because there are so many forms of graffiti nowadays. But back in the days not at all.
Do you create studio works as well? You painted at a young age on canvas abstract paintings, right? With which techniques are you working now, and how would you describe your studio practice?
I use all kind of materials to paint with. I just start and see what happens during the process painting on the canvas.
Did you paint abstract on canvas before painting abstract on walls?
Yes, it was before I painted abstract works on walls.
You painted at the Urban Art Biennale 2024 in Völklinger Hütte the front of an empty building on the windows. Can you tell us briefly about the concept of that work and the process?
It was not painted, it was made with coloured left over sheets of sticker film. I did that work together with Krista Burger. I think there were 100 windows, and we split it in half, 50/50 each, and then made a small composition where to stick them. Then we just started to cut them randomly and play with it, like for a big collage. It was total freedom and along the way gave us ourselves the freedom to change and play with the composition. It was a lot of work, but we really had fun to make it, and we are really happy with how it looks in the end, a real eye-catcher for the city centre of Völklinger.
Did you know Krista Burger before that project in Völklinger? Have you ever worked with him before?
We met 10 years ago, and we did several projects together. In Germany, Spain, Mexico and in the Netherlands.
I discovered your work on your Instagram account naamlooozz. What does the name mean, like nameless? And why did you erase it?
Yes, Naamlooozz is no name – nameless. I did not like it anymore, I prefer to use my real name.
What did you paint before the actual works of the last 10 years, and how would you describe your own artistic development?
I was struggling with an addiction for years. I did some paintings on canvas, but I was not so active like in the last 10 years. 12 years ago, I decided to do things different and changed my life, a lot of shit happened. Now I have another addiction: Painting, painting, painting!
Do you have any plans in the near future? Any projects coming up?
I am doing a three months art residency at the moment in Rotterdam, at P1projects. In May 2025, I participate in group exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. For this museum show, I am going to make new works.
Thank you, Kenneth! Good luck for your future projects!
Interview by Katia Hermann, Berlin, January 2025
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