Ilja van Dalen

GRUPO CRANC was an artist group of three energetic, young artists with their roots in Twente. They followed art courses in Almelo, Enschede and Amsterdam, but none was inspiring enough. They decided to go their separate ways. The street became their teacher. They were engaged in graffiti, but later they mainly worked on canvas, paper and cardboard. Paint was used, but also stain, tar, wood and polystyrene foam. The paintings were made individually or in groups. Their work reflected in a completely unique way the ordinary happenings of animals, sports, the daily news, the hassle of people. The design is related to certain video art, but also refers to Lucebert. The three artists are Ilja van Dalen, Wouter Elferink and Kenneth Letsoïn. They exhibited in Almelo, Amsterdam, Deventer, Fecamp in France and Rio de Janeiro, among others. They also received various commissions to paint objects, from cars to walls and doors, painted live at art fairs, and gave demonstrations in schools. Ilja van Dalen is also the author of a number of paperbacks entitled “In Holland staat een piece”, about grafitti in the Netherlands.

Grafitti, lacquer and acrylic on paper / 'plane' 50x65cm