Carien van Dongen

Figures of a Human, a Person, a Character

The sculptures of Carien van Dongen capture the human being in all its facets. With striking expressiveness, her portraits reveal unique characters—perhaps especially because they do not conform to fixed notions of gender, ethnicity, or age.

“Under my hands, a new portrait emerges of someone who has always existed. A snapshot of a human in all their complexity, reflecting the characters that reside within us. Figures of a human we recognize, even if we have never met them.”

Born in 1963 in Brabant, where she still lives, Carien van Dongen has been working full-time in her studio for ten years. She constantly seeks a balance between teaching and creating her own work, with each portrait opening a new world. In 2025, her mastery in sculpting character and expression was recognized with the Dutch 3D Portrait Prize.