Best Friend

Best Friend (2023) by Berend Strik explores one of the most fundamental human relationships — the best friend — through his signature combination of drawing and mixed media.

Strik describes the work: "A loosely sketched figure in blue pen and colored pencil depicts a voluptuous woman seen from behind, the face averted from view. The sketch is informal, suggesting intimacy and spontaneity rather than formal portraiture."

The best friend is simultaneously the closest confidant and the most honest mirror we have — the person who knows us as we truly are. By depicting this figure from behind, Strik creates a sense of private exchange that the viewer is not meant to see — an intimacy that excludes as much as it includes.

Strik's drawings form a parallel practice to his stitched photographs, sharing the same interest in intimate observation, informal mark-making, and the revelation of psychological truth through physical description. His drawings have been exhibited alongside his photographs at institutions including Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Fons Welters.

Sources: Galerie Fons Welters