Tijs Dragtsma (1992) - Void. Almost Touching

Two hands reach across the dark, fingertips a breath apart. It is the most quoted gesture in the history of art, yet here it returns stripped to its essence, held only by a field of individual marks and the space the artist chose to leave untouched.

No paint. No print. No ink. The image is built from depth and controlled absence, a surface where light has been allowed to fall away in some places and gather in others, so that the hands seem to rise out of the dark rather than sit upon it.

From a distance the work is quiet, almost still, a shape more felt than seen. Step closer and that calm resolves into a field of depth, countless small withdrawals of surface that catch the light differently with every angle and every hour of the day.

The gap between the fingertips carries the whole piece. It is not emptiness so much as anticipation, the pause before contact, the distance that makes longing possible. In that narrow dark interval the work asks what it means to almost arrive, to be so near another presence and still not touch it.

As the light in the room shifts, so does the image. Hands that were barely visible at midday sharpen into clarity by lamplight, then recede again, as if the piece were breathing with the hours around it.

Almost Touching continues the Art with Void series by Tijs Dragtsma, in which imagery is constructed through depth and absence rather than paint or print. This work is unique.

"The space between two hands can hold more than the hands themselves."

About Art with Void

Art with Void is a body of work in which the image is not built through addition. but revealed through absence.

From a distance. the image is unmistakable. Strong. clear and immediately present. Yet up close. the work transforms. The viewer discovers a surface composed of precisely carved micro voids in high quality acrylic glass. What seemed whole and still from afar becomes detailed. delicate and deeply structured.

Light is essential to the work. In daylight. reflections shift and the image changes subtly with its environment. In darkness. under a focused spotlight. the acrylic glass comes fully alive. Depth intensifies. reflections sharpen. and the image takes on an almost magical presence.

This interplay between distance and proximity. image and structure. stillness and transformation lies at the heart of Art with Void. It is a visual language built on reduction. yet rich in atmosphere. precision and presence.

About the Artist

My name is Tijs Dragtsma, founder of TD Fine Art Studio.

As an artist, I am driven by a constant desire to explore new visual languages. I do not see art as a fixed style, but as an evolving field of discovery where material, structure, light and emotion come together.

My work often begins with a simple question. How can a material speak in a new way. How can hardness become intimacy. How can precision create emotion. That search lies at the heart of everything I create.

Within TD Fine Art Studio, each body of work is approached as its own world, with its own logic, atmosphere and visual identity. Some works are built through rhythm, repetition and structure. Others emerge through absence, shadow, reflection or tension. What connects them is a shared commitment to originality, clarity and emotional presence.

I am fascinated by contrast. Between strength and fragility. Between control and feeling. Between what is visible and what is left open to interpretation. My goal is not simply to make an image, but to create a work that holds attention, invites reflection and continues to reveal itself over time.

TD Fine Art Studio is the space in which these explorations come together. It is not only a studio, but an evolving artistic universe shaped by curiosity, precision and the ambition to create work that feels distinctive, intentional and alive.

This listing contains AI-generated visualisations. Please refer to the original photographs to assess the actual condition of the object.