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Hugo Kaagman was born in Haarlem in 1955. From 1973 to 1976 he studied social geography at the University of Amsterdam. Towards the end of the seventies he got involved in the punk movement; at that time the premises at 62 Sarphatistraat, where he lived and worked up until 1998, were broken into by squatters. This was the place where in 1977 the Koecrandt, the first punk newspaper of the Netherlands, was published. In collaboration with others Hugo Kaagman also set up a number of galleries, including Anus gallery in 1977. Hugo Kaagman has developed his own stencil graffiti style since 1977. In this early period, he made use of various elements of the punk and reggae cultures in his work. Until 1985 he was largely active as a graffiti artist in Amsterdam's city centre. In recent years most of his murals and paintings are realized by means of airbrush instead of spraycans. Typical of his work is the symmetry of the composition and the repetition and mirroring of the image. Kaagman's work reflects a particular concern with Western and non-Western cultures. During his travels in Morocco and Senegal, among other countries, he discovered motifs, traditional patterns and handicraft forms that were specific to the culture of these nations.

Exploring other cultures made Kaagman aware of is own culture and he started to research motifs that were typically Dutch. He feels strongly that these should be preserved and combines them with contemporary and foreign motifs. Besides being a crucible for the motifs of different cultures. Kaagman's art is also a vehicle for his ironic commentary on political or contemporary events. The most distinctive characteristic of Kaagman's work of the last years is its blue colour. In addition to the above cultures, his most recent works reflect a French tradition. He plans to extend and deepen his study of the cliches of different cultures. In 1983 Hugo Kaagman received his first official commission from the municipality of Amsterdam: spraying a fence in Waterlooplein. In 1987 he painted the entrance to the Tropenmuseum. In 1992 he made his first Delft blue mural: the Eerste Leliedwarsstraat. After this in 1993 came the most extensive painting until then: a 65-metre-long mural in the West terminal of Schiphol Airport. Since then Hugo Kaagman created a great many murals abroad. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Netherlands Antilles, Japan, Athens, Greece, Russia. Until recently his designs flew round the world every day on the tail fins of a number of aeroplanes.

PHOTO: ERWIN OLAF