Jade van der Mark on London, Paris, “Unfollow the World”, and the Future of Contemporary Art

Catching Up with Jade van der Mark: “Between Cities, Systems and Perception”

Following her acclaimed solo exhibition Unfollow the World at Veta Gallery in Madrid, we sat down with contemporary artist Jade van der Mark to discuss a transformative period in her life and career. Since our previous conversation, Van der Mark has moved between London and Paris, deepening her artistic language while refining her observations of contemporary society.

Known for her large-scale paintings that explore the tensions between individuality, collective behaviour, digital culture, and freedom, Van der Mark continues to build an international practice that challenges viewers to reconsider the structures shaping modern life. From the changing light of Paris to the relentless pace of London, from questions of identity and performance to future plans in New York and Asia, this conversation offers an intimate insight into the mind of an artist who refuses to follow conventional paths.

As she returns to London after nearly two years in Paris, Van der Mark reflects on ambition, observation, artistic responsibility, and why painting remains a powerful tool for revealing the hidden systems of contemporary existence.

Painting by Jade van der Mark at VETA Gallery in Madrid.

Interview

It has been some time since our last conversation. How have you been, both personally and artistically, and what has occupied your mind most intensely over the past year?

It has indeed been a long time. During that period I moved from London to Paris and, after almost two years there, have now returned to London. Brexit initially made it difficult to remain in the UK, so I needed to secure my visa before returning. Having arrived back only a few days ago, it feels like an adjustment, but also an exciting new chapter.

Paris was a period of significant artistic development. The city’s unique light influenced my work tremendously. Compared to London’s cooler blue tones, Paris offered warmer yellows and pinks, which changed how I think about light and colour in painting. More broadly, Paris gave me distance from the intensity of London and allowed me to reflect on my work from a different perspective.

I have become increasingly aware of how cities shape not only artistic production but also social structures and opportunities. While Paris is experiencing exciting developments in the arts, I also observed limitations within its cultural systems. London, despite the challenges following Brexit, remains a place driven by ambition, experimentation, and constant movement.

Personally, I feel a strong responsibility to make the most of the talent I have been given. Many people my age are building conventional lives, and while there is beauty in that, I have always felt compelled to follow a different path. Life is short. I want to create, explore, and contribute something meaningful.

My work often functions as a parallel world of happiness and reflection against the systems that increasingly shape our lives. At the same time, I value privacy. In a culture where everything is shared online, I believe privacy and exclusivity have become forms of luxury. If people want to understand me, they can find me in my paintings. In every work there is, in some way, a self-portrait.

Studio Jade van der Mark, photography Yaël Temminck

Since your exhibition at Veta Gallery in Madrid, how do you feel your work has evolved?

I have become increasingly focused on composition and on challenging myself formally. For a long time I worked intuitively within the framework of Unfollow the World.

This body of work emerges from the experience of living in a reality increasingly filtered through digital systems, social expectations, and economic structures. Unfollowing is not about escaping the world, but about creating critical distance from the endless flow of images, ideals, and performances that shape contemporary life.

The paintings function as fragments of a deconstructed reality. Everyday scenes become unstable, almost as if the world itself has transformed into an interface. The work invites viewers to step outside the logic of participation and examine the mechanisms behind what they see.

One moment that stayed with me happened during the Madrid exhibition. A woman in her late sixties held my hands and said: “Girl, you see clearly. Keep looking, and thank you for acknowledging and revealing the ailments of our time.” That encounter gave me strength.

Painting by Jade van der Mark at Veta Gallery, Madrid.

A collector from Brussels also wrote to me afterwards, saying that the work carried something deeply human and sincere that stayed with him long after viewing it.

Of course, criticism is part of being an artist. Some people think the work is too large. Others suggest it should be flatter. I listen, but ultimately I remain loyal to my instincts. The brush is in my hands, not theirs. My hands are my greatest gift, and I cannot change the way they naturally work.

The exhibition itself was deeply emotional. My brother attended one of my exhibitions for the first time, and friends travelled from different parts of the world to be there. It became a beautiful moment of connection.

Painting by Jade van der Mark

Paris clearly played an important role in your recent work. What did the city give you emotionally and visually?

Paris gave me clarity and calm. It allowed me to process personal experiences and strengthened my understanding of my position as a female artist today.

Visually, the city left a strong mark on me. From the overwhelming tourist scenes around the Eiffel Tower to the energy of République and long walks along the Seine, Paris offered endless observations.

The most significant influence was the light. It made me realise how consistent my colour palette had been for years and encouraged me to think differently about atmosphere, light, and shadow.

I was also inspired by the city’s relationship with fashion. Attending Paris Fashion Week and seeing Ronald van der Kemp’s work up close sharpened my thinking about fashion, identity, and ego as systems that shape human behaviour.

Above all, Paris gave me freedom in both thought and painting.

Painting by Jade van der Mark on urban life

Has your relationship with urban life changed over the past year?

Yes, significantly.

The city still functions as both stage and mirror, but the reflection has become more fragmented. What I observe now is a landscape of overlapping signals, disconnected identities, and competing realities.

Everything feels faster. Attention, communication, and emotion are compressed into immediate reactions. Reflection often disappears.

The smartphone has become central to this condition. Experience is constantly translated into representation, pulling us away from physical presence.

This is where Unfollow the World deepens. It is not about withdrawal but about developing a critical position toward overstimulation. Painting becomes a space where fragmentation can be held and examined rather than instantly resolved.

Jade van der Mark painting on consumption in current society.

Your work often explores the tension between individuality and collective behaviour. Has society become even more performative since you began investigating these themes?

Absolutely.

My work examines the invisible structures that shape contemporary life: systems of consumption, productivity, connectivity, and expectation.

What appears as freedom can simultaneously function as a subtle form of conditioning. We move through realities shaped by algorithms, economic models, and cultural ideals that become so embedded they appear natural.

The modern individual exists in a paradox: permanently connected, yet increasingly alienated. Surrounded by information, yet often disconnected from direct experience.

My paintings move between observation and hallucination, recognition and estrangement. Figures become embedded within systems of desire, routines, screens, and symbolic structures that simultaneously protect and confine them.

In that sense, painting becomes a form of archaeology, revealing layers of collective fiction and hidden conditioning beneath everyday reality.

Have you considered spending time in Asia?

Very much so.

I believe artists should live and work in different places. I often describe myself as a travelling artist-reporter, absorbing energy from different environments and translating those experiences into new bodies of work.

I have worked in Italy, Mexico, Paris, London, Madrid, and soon New York. Asia feels like a natural next step.

Jade van der Mark painting on society

What interests me most are places where acceleration, density, tradition, and technology coexist. Cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Bali each offer unique intersections of culture, identity, economics, and spirituality.

For me, Asia would not represent an escape. It would amplify many of the questions already present in my work.

Looking ahead, what projects are on the horizon?

Following my exhibition in Madrid, I will spend three months living and working in New York. I feel strongly that the city will play an important role in my artistic development.

I am also working on a documentary about my career and preparing my first book of paintings.

There are several additional projects currently underway, but it is still too early to discuss them publicly. For now, my focus remains on creating new work and embracing this new chapter in London.

Jade van der Mark painting on consumerism

Would you be open to creating a major site specific exhibition in The Netherlands?

Perhaps one day.

I have lived abroad for almost eight years and, to be honest, the Netherlands no longer feels like home. I often observe that artists gain international recognition before being fully appreciated in their home country.

If I were to participate in a project in the Netherlands, it would need to be something exceptional.

What does interest me deeply is supporting young female artists. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be simple: travel, do your research, and experience the world firsthand. The wider your perspective becomes, the richer your work can be.

Painting by Jade van der Mark on society