Miggie (1988) - Home sweet home

Big painting: 80x60x4 cm
Mixed technique: graphic design on canvas, acrylic paint and oil paint
Original work, with certificate

Who am I?

My name is Miguel, but to friends and now also in the art world I am mainly known as Miggie. It is my stage name and also my nickname. I was born in 1988 in the Netherlands and I live in Maastricht, a Bourgondian city in the south of the Netherlands, close to the Belgian and German borders. The international environment I live in provides an important source of inspiration for my work. Daily I encounter different cultures, styles, people and stories. This versatility fits well with the way I view art: curious, free and without fixed boundaries.

Art has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. From a young age, drawing and painting were a natural way for me to express myself. When words fall short, an image can tell a lot. As a child I drew portraits, comic characters and endless doodles.

Later I discovered graffiti and street art. That discovery had a big influence on how I look at art. The energy, freedom and direct visual language of graffiti appealed to me greatly. Art did not have to hang only in a museum or gallery for me; it could also emerge on the street, in the middle of society, between buildings, people and daily life. The combination of large forms, bold colors, typography, spontaneity and different layers continued to fascinate me.

My interest in art continued to develop and eventually I deepened my passion at the Kunst Academie in Maastricht. There I was given the opportunity to further develop my skills and simultaneously experiment with different techniques, materials and ways of working. The program helped me become not only technically stronger but also better at thinking about my own visual language and what I want to tell as an artist.

My style

My current work is a mix of street art, pop culture and contemporary visual art. I draw inspiration from art history, popular culture, social developments and, above all, the world around me. Sometimes it is a recognizable image, a person or an object that catches my attention. At other times an idea arises precisely from a color, a form, a text or a chance combination of images.

Artists such as Dillon Boy, Banksy, Jeff Koons and Marcel Duchamp have inspired me in different ways. Yet I try to walk my own path above all. I do not believe art has to fit into one style or one technique. It is precisely the combination of different influences that makes my work interesting. I enjoy pushing existing boundaries and letting different techniques and materials work together.

My paintings are colorful, expressive and often built up in multiple layers. In one work, different images, patterns, texts, textures and details can come together. Sometimes you immediately see what you see, while in other works you have to look longer to discover all the elements. I find that interesting: a work of art does not have to reveal everything right away.

My inspiration largely comes from the visual culture in which we live daily. We are constantly surrounded by advertising, television, social media, brands, music, films, comics and other forms of popular culture. These images influence how we view the world. I use elements from that visual language and then give them a new context within my own work.

Materials and techniques

I use different materials and techniques and combine them into mixed-media works. I work, among other things, with acrylic paint, high-quality acrylics, markers, wall paint and graphic designs that are printed on canvas and oil paint.

Unique artworks

Each painting I make is unique
I believe it is important that a work of art is not just a decorative object, but also contains a piece of my personality, energy and way of looking at things.

Shipping

Each canvas is carefully protected with multiple layers of bubble wrap and then supplied with a sturdy, custom-made outer box. In this way the artwork is protected as well as possible during transport to its new destination.

My goal as an artist

For me, art ultimately is a way to make ideas, energy and emotion visible. It is a continuous search in which I keep experimenting, learning and discovering new things. My inspiration comes from the past, contemporary culture and especially daily life.

I do not want to limit myself to one style, one technique or one subject. It is precisely the freedom to bring together different influences that makes it interesting for me to keep creating.

My hope is that my art adds something to the space where it ends up. That it brings color, arouses curiosity, starts a conversation or simply gives someone a good feeling.

Thank you for your interest in my work. I hope my art inspires you, moves you, makes you curious or simply brings a smile to your face.