About my practice
"I choose materials for their ability to tell the story I want to communicate. Every material has it's own language and that dialogue is what makes me get up in the morning"
Education
2020 - 2023
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Rietveld Academy Amsterdam, Netherlands
At the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Hanne Arends developed a strong conceptual art practice focused on identity, material exploration, and independent research, working across sculpture, textile, and installation.
2018 - 2022
Bachelor of Design
Design Academy Eindhoven, Netherlands
At Design Academy Eindhoven, she refined a material- and process-driven approach, translating conceptual ideas into technically complex, large-scale works through craftsmanship and industrial collaboration.
2014 - 2017
BBA & BBM
Nyenrode Business University, Netherlands/London
At Nyenrode Business Universiteit, she gained strong entrepreneurial skills in business development, strategy, and leadership, enabling her to build a sustainable, professional art practice.
Artist Statement
I explore emotional paradoxes through sculpture, glass, textiles, and monumental materials. My work examines what it means to be human in a time when emotions and identities are increasingly unstable and fragmented. I create forms that appear soft but are made from hard materials, and pieces that feel intimate yet remain abstract. This tension between what is seen and what is felt drives my entire practice.
Whether I work in glass, marble, ceramics, or woven textiles, I choose materials for their ability to hold emotional contradiction. My pieces often reference the masks we carry the difference between who we are and what we show. Some works evoke memory or nostalgia, others explore playfulness within heaviness.
Ultimately, I aim to create objects that communicate emotional truth in ways that words cannot. My work invites viewers into a space where vulnerability, strength, humor, and tension can exist together.
Meet the team
Hanne Arends
Nadia Dattatreya
Studio Assistent
Liline Arends
Public Relations
Exhibitions
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
03.26 - Centraal Museum Utrecht, Group show new work
04.26 Milan Design Week
08.26 - Glas Museum Leerdam, Solo Exhibition new work
PAST EXHIBITIONS
12.25 - Art Miami, Where were you & Rebels — SmithDavidson Gallery, Miami, USA
11.25 - PAN Amsterdam, Rebels — SmithDavidson Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
11.25 - Glas Leeft Leerdam, Rebels — Nationaal Glasmuseum, Leerdam, The Netherlands
09.25 - BIG ART Amsterdam, Where Were You — Amsterdam, The Netherlands
09.25 - Rebels at Home, Solo Show — Hanne Arends, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
09.25 - Amsterdam Fashion Week, Rebel Shirts — Amsterdam, The Netherlands
06.25 - Treasure House Fair, Rebels — SmithDavidson Gallery, London, United Kingdom
05.25 - Masks, Group Exhibition — Artsy Gallery, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
05.25 - KunstRAI, Rebel Series — SmithDavidson Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
03.25 - Collective Loneliness, Solo Show — Rosewood Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
09.24 - Choker, Group Exhibition — Glue Amsterdam, The Netherlands
09.24 - Hanne’s Room Takeover, Solo Exhibition — Meliá Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
08.24 - Pepe Valenti & Hanne Arends, Duo Exhibition — Amsterdam, The Netherlands
05.24 - Behind the Mask, Solo Exhibition — Singel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
11.23 - The Choker & Masks — Dutch Design Week (Isola), Eindhoven, The Netherlands
07.23 - Collective Loneliness, Large-scale Installation — Graduation Show, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
11.22 - The Choker — Graduation Show, Design Academy Eindhoven - Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
07.22 - House on Fire — Glazen Huis, Amstelpark, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
04.22 - VULVASES, Solo Exhibition — Singel 412, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
09.21 - De Karel Serie, Solo Exhibition — Kasteel Beverweerd, Werkhoven, The Netherlands
Coming soon
Art work - Databank Hanne Arends
All the artworks made by Hanne Arends from 2019 until 2026