︎︎︎
Biography
Daan Couzijn (NL) is an interdisciplinary, conceptual artist currently based in Amsterdam and Paris. After having studied singing at the Conservatory of Music in Rotterdam, he continued his studies at the Institute of Performative Arts in Maastricht where he graduated with a BA degree in Performance Art. Concluding his education, Couzijn graduated in June 2019 from the postgraduate program Radical Cut-Up at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam (master program of Gerrit Rietveld Academy), where he received an MA degree in Fine Art and Design.

Central to Couzijn's artistic practice is the romantic desire for - and the questioning of - authenticity. His work oscillates between the romantic notion that artists should pursue authenticity and the rational belief that, in the postmodern era, all ideas are shaped by external influences and inevitably reference pre-existing simulacra. Working highly conceptual, he uses a range of media and techniques to express his ideas; from sculpture and painting to video and installation. He draws inspiration from a range of sources, including philosophy, religion and visual culture, frequently incorporating found objects, materials and images into his work. In doing so, Couzijn doesn't regard the artwork as an end point, but as a simple moment in an infinite network of contributions. He believes that every idea, every creation, is a combined effort of everything we've ever witnessed and experienced and refuses any form of "source-hypocrisy", embracing all ideas as second-hand, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources. Although his creative process exists mostly in the digital realm, the outcome often results in physical, artisanal forms. By combining different contextual elements and by recontextualising traditional craftsmanship with contemporary methods, he aims to create new meanings and narratives that speak to the nature of reality, authenticity, representation, and the proliferation of iconographies in contemporary societies. Couzijn is currently represented by PLUS-ONE Gallery in Antwerp and his practice was recognised by the renowned Mondriaan Fund in 2021 when he received the Artist Start grant.

Due to his diverse background, Couzijn is broadly oriented and active within the creative field. Besides working as a visual artist, he is a trained vocalist and performer, a guest curator for Melkweg Expo, a lecturer at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and a member of the advisory committee at both the Creative Industries Fund (Stimuleringsfonds) as well as the Amarte Foundation. Previously, Couzijn has been active as a guest-tutor at both the Sandberg Institute (Gerrit Rietveld Academy) and ArtEZ University of the Arts. Additionally, he performs and produces music under the pseudonym of Cousin. His electronic sounds dip into minimalistic trip-hop styles balanced out by catchy pop melodies, experimental key changes and a playful use of his background as a vocalist. With his music, he has supported artists like Bea1991, Lauren Auder and Le1f and performed live at Musée du Louvre in Paris and Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt in Berlin, in the framework of the prestigious Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin festival.

CV (click here to see full CV)
Press
Feature: Kluger Hans #47
Feature: Balloon Project
Feature: NSS Magazine
Feature: Metropolis M
Feature: Numéro Netherlands
Feature: De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2023
Feature: De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2021
Feature: Turtlenek
Interview: Metal Magazine
Feature: Dazed & Confused Magazine
Interview: Kunst is lang (podcast series by Mister Motley)
Feature: e-flux
Feature: It’s Nice That
Feature: NRC
Interview: Metal Magazine
Interview: i-D
Publication: Radical Cut-Up Reader
Publication: Nothing Is Original

Publication: Dit is een vertaling
Interview: DAMN Magazine
Interview: Mister Motley
Feature: Metropolis M
Feature: De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2019
Feature: Lodown Magazine
Feature: Vogue Italia
Feature: Kaltblut Magazine
Feature: TEDx Amsterdam