Romantic Horse Portrait (2007) Photography by Tamas Kooning Lansbergen

It would be too easy to see the hurt or the joy in the rider of one of Tamas Lansbergen’s painted horses. It would be too easy to be excited by the smell of the pigment ground into earth collected from his home. Tamas is not so easy. Born a European he has settled on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza; the island of dance and love. But again this is too easy, because in reality Ibiza is uncompromising in its acceptance or dismissal of its visitors, with an irresistible energy for those that can survive it. Tamas, like Ibiza, dares you.

Whether it is the combination of colour pigments ground into the soil or an enthusiasm for manipulating a photograph to create an intimate depth to a portrait, he is always keen to surprise. At first glance his figurative work plays to your assumptions leading you down safe and well trodden paths, but if you accept his challenge and dare to linger, you will start to feel a little uncomfortable, a bit confused. This is what he wants.

It is always risky to enter someone else’s dreams and Tamas’s are no exception. Look at the elegance and power of one of his horses and then feel the layers of anger, humiliation and love. It is possible to share his passion for natural colour and light but impossible to indulge equally in his sometimes cruel manipulation of that nature.

Tamas grew up with horses, has been celebrated as a painter and photographer, and his work can be found in private and corporate collections in different parts of the world.

What you see today is part of his journey through different media and life, and it’s his chance to share a little of that challenge with you.


D.Currey . Ibiza 2007

• Nationality: NETHERLANDS
• Date of birth : unknown date
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Dutch Artists