Souvenir shows an overview of recent paintings by visual artist Jasper Hagenaar. Hagenaar mainly makes small, intimate paintings. They are representations of ceramic vases, tropical landscapes, toy dinosaurs, cowboys and other childhood idols, locked between the narrow barriers of the canvas. They look like watery fragments of memories that are part of a personal story. Very familiar in a strange way, such as that old smiling portrait photo that has been on the mantelpiece for years at home. (Rieke Vos, 2016)
Robbert Roos, director of art hall Kade Amersfoort and art critic, wrote a text for the publication in which he describes the most important themes and developments within the work of Hagenaar.
In 2012, Hagenaar was the winner of both the jury and the public prize of the royal prize for free painting. The two winning works are the starting point of the book, which then shows the development of his work up to and including 2019. The book shows a wide selection of paintings supplemented with room overviews on which the specific monumental way of exhibiting that is typical of Hagenaar is shown. Context – creative studio took care of the design of the book and took this monumentality as a starting point for the design.
