Severien is an artists who lives and works in Dordrecht, Holland. He makes autonomous work but also works on commission. In his work he shows a passion for the human being and the body. His works are mainly realistic figurative but they always have an extra emotional layer, as if they carry a secret with them. In his works he is looking for the layer just below the surface that lies hidden in it; the vulnerability, the drama, the mysticism, the power, the beauty and the sensual. Sometimes this layer is presented strongly, sometimes it is more hidden. In his words: 'In the past as a dancer and choreographer I used to put this passion for the human being in movement and motion; nowadays my media are paint, pastels and pencil. The human body for me is like a miracle in which I search for the mystery of life. Gradually the image takes on its emotional layer, not thick on top, but held back, as an undertone; through the use of colour, the tones, the brushstroke, the material I work with, the posture or the light. As if the image magically becomes transparent so that the underlayer becomes visible. For me it is like an adventurous search for 'the breath of existence'. I like to be challenged, to take risks and to explore boundaries, to find different forms and to look for that phenomenon again in every image.