Donald Schenkel
Exploring space, texture and movement through abstract painting
In Donald Schenkel’s work, painting becomes a means to examine the tension between control and intuition, surface and depth. Through abstract compositions, he investigates how colour, form and material can suggest space without representing it, how a shift in texture or transparency can alter perception.
Triptych of Verticals, 2020 - at BigArt
More about the artist
Rooted in a deep engagement with the material qualities of oil paint, Donald’s practice has evolved toward a more open and physical approach. Donald works with self-developed tools that allow him to guide and disrupt the paint in equal measure, embracing irregularities, allowing surfaces to breathe, and inviting chance into the process. Earlier works often explored subtle colour gradients; more recent pieces introduce rougher transitions, exposed structures and tonal shifts that evoke a sense of movement and impermanence.
Donald works across a variety of supports, including wood, canvas, aluminium and glass. Each material brings its own logic and resistance. Rather than hiding these, Donald allows the raw textures, grains, seams, and natural imperfections, to remain visible. Light becomes an essential element: it reflects, filters and refracts across the surfaces, deepening the viewer’s experience of time and space within the work.
His paintings, sculptures and large-scale installations emerge from an ongoing investigation into how perception is shaped. While his visual language remains abstract, it resonates with familiar sensations, stillness, depth, reflection. Donald Schenkel’s work can be found in private collections across Europe, the United States and Asia.
View Donald Schenkel’s available works.
By Donald Schenkel
30 × 21 cm, 2025
Oil paint on linen, on wood
Orange Dusk moves from a grounded terracotta tone into a soft, muted mauve, creating a gentle shift that feels warm and steady. Donald Schenkel works in thin, patient layers, allowing the gradient to settle without any hard edges. The result is a quiet, atmospheric piece that changes subtly with the light.
This smaller format makes it easy to place - on a shelf, in a hallway, next to a desk - anywhere a touch of colour can bring calm and warmth. As an accessible entry point into Schenkel’s practice, it’s well suited for a first artwork or a thoughtful gift: minimal, carefully made and meant to stay with you for years.
This work will be shipped within the Netherlands and Belgium at no additional cost, securely and with tracking.
By Donald Schenkel
30 × 24 cm, 2025
Oil paint on linen, on wood
Light Ochre is a warm, quiet gradient that moves from a soft golden tone into a deeper, earthy shade. Donald Schenkel applies his layers with patience, allowing the colours to settle into a smooth transition that feels both steady and calm. It’s a small work, easy to place, yet it brings a subtle sense of warmth to any corner of a room.
Because it responds gently to natural light, the painting shifts slightly throughout the day, sometimes brighter, sometimes deeper in tone. It’s an inviting entry point into Schenkel’s practice and a thoughtful choice for anyone looking for an original artwork that feels personal, minimal, and accessible.
This work will be shipped within the Netherlands and Belgium at no additional cost, securely and with tracking.
By Donald Schenkel
30 × 24 cm, 2025
Oil paint on linen, on wood
Cerulean Light is a small, gentle painting that invites a moment of calm. Donald Schenkel builds his gradients slowly, allowing the colours to settle into a quiet transition from pale blue to an almost weightless tone. It’s a piece that changes subtly with the light, offering something slightly different throughout the day.
Its modest size makes it an accessible introduction to Schenkel’s practice, an artwork that fits easily into any interior, whether placed on its own or as part of a small constellation. It’s also a thoughtful choice for anyone looking for a meaningful, long-lasting gift: minimal, serene, and made with care.
This work will be shipped within the Netherlands and Belgium at no additional cost, securely and with tracking.
By Donald Schenkel
30 × 21 cm, 2025
Oil paint on linen, on wood
Soft Lagoon moves gently from a clear, lagoon-like blue into a warm, sandy tone. The transition is subtle and slow, almost like watching colours settle at the edge of a shoreline. Donald Schenkel paints these gradients in thin layers, allowing the surface to stay calm and understated.
It’s a small piece with an easy presence, light enough for a quiet corner, a work desk, or alongside other small paintings. Because it reacts softly to daylight, it shifts through the day without drawing attention away from the room. As an accessible introduction to Schenkel’s practice, it’s a thoughtful choice for anyone looking for a minimal, soothing artwork at an approachable size and price.
This work will be shipped within the Netherlands and Belgium at no additional cost, securely and with tracking.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
100 × 80 cm, 2026
Wooden frame included
Wandering Phantoms is part of Donald Schenkel's ongoing exploration of colour and atmosphere. Layers of soft violet, pink and warm yellow dissolve into one another, while subtle vertical forms emerge and disappear within the composition.
Rather than depicting a specific landscape or place, the painting balances between presence and absence. The image remains open, allowing associations with reflections, light or distant horizons without settling into a fixed interpretation.
Built up through numerous translucent layers of oil paint, the surface reveals different nuances throughout the day. The restrained palette and luminous centre give the work a calm yet radiant character.
Presented in a custom wooden frame, Wandering Phantoms brings together colour, light and subtle movement in a composition that rewards prolonged viewing.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
70 × 80 cm, 2026
Wooden frame included
No Clear Skies Ahead by Donald Schenkel is built from a concentrated blue field that shifts in density and depth. Vertical traces appear and dissolve within the surface, suggesting movement without fixed direction. The work holds a quiet tension between stillness and disruption, shaped through a controlled yet irreversible process.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
120 × 110 cm, 2026
Wooden frame included
Troika’s Dusk by Donald Schenkel is structured through a sequence of vertical forms emerging from a warm spectrum of red, orange and violet. The surface appears to shift between density and transparency, with colour moving across the canvas in a single, continuous layer. The composition suggests rhythm and repetition, without settling into a fixed structure.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
70 × 68 cm, 2026
Wooden frame included
No Clear Skies Ahead by Donald Schenkel is built from a concentrated blue field that shifts in density and depth. Vertical traces appear and dissolve within the surface, suggesting movement without fixed direction. The work holds a quiet tension between stillness and disruption, shaped through a controlled yet irreversible process.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
140 × 80 cm, 2026
Wooden frame included
Lucid Line by Donald Schenkel unfolds through a gradual shift from warm to cool tones, where colour moves from yellow and pink into blue. A single vertical line interrupts the surface, creating a sense of alignment and tension. The painting balances clarity and instability, with each transition revealing the immediacy of a single-layer process.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
130 × 80 cm, 2025
Wooden frame included
In Unexpected Visitor, Donald Schenkel explores the presence of something unfamiliar entering a space without announcement.
The painting unfolds through layered gradients of oil paint, applied wet-in-wet in a single, continuous process. From a distance, the surface appears smooth and atmospheric; up close, the texture of the canvas and the movement of the paint become visible.
Vertical traces rise through the composition, subtly interrupting the horizontal flow of colour. Rather than disrupting the image entirely, they introduce a sense of passage, as if something has moved through the space and left a temporary imprint.
The title suggests a quiet encounter rather than a disruption. In Schenkel’s practice, unpredictability is part of the process: colours interact, shift, and assert themselves beyond full control.
Unexpected Visitor reflects on transience, attention, and the way brief presences - in life as well as in material - can alter perception without fully revealing themselves.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on canvas
130 × 80 cm, 2025
Wooden frame included
In Unexpected Guest, Donald Schenkel explores the moment when an unforeseen presence enters an otherwise balanced system.
The painting unfolds through soft gradients of colour, created wet-in-wet in a single movement. From a distance, the surface appears smooth and almost immaterial; up close, the texture of the canvas and the physicality of oil paint become visible.
Subtle vertical shifts interrupt the horizontal flow of colour, introducing a quiet disturbance that alters the rhythm of the composition. What initially reads as calm and expansive gradually reveals a sense of ambiguity.
The title refers both to lived experience and to Schenkel’s painting process, in which chance plays an active role. Certain colours emerge unexpectedly, reshaping the work as it develops.
Unexpected Guest reflects on hospitality, vulnerability, and the way unforeseen encounters - in life and in material - can leave a lasting trace.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
Oil on paper
57 × 43 cm, 2025
Wooden frame included
“Last Shimmer” belongs to Donald Schenkel’s new Real World Renders series, created for Root Gallery’s 2025 programme.
Through this body of work, Schenkel continues his exploration of how light, colour, and material interact to shape perception. Painted in a single wet-in-wet layer, each work demands complete control and acceptance of unpredictability, gradients merge, pigments shift, and no correction is possible.
On paper, the delicacy of oil paint becomes even more pronounced. Subtle transitions unfold across the surface, suggesting a digital glow that remains grounded in pure material presence.
Framed in walnut, Last Shimmer evokes both warmth and contemplation, the final glimmer of daylight, suspended between certainty and change.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
57 x 32 cm, 2025
Oil paint on paper with walnut frame
In The Last Sunset (2025), Donald Schenkel captures the moment where day dissolves into night through the slow layering of oil paint. Working with a traditional glazing technique, he builds depth and luminosity without visible brushstrokes. The colour shift, from deep violet to warm orange and pale blue, evokes the lingering light of dusk, suspended between presence and disappearance.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
57 x 32 cm, 2024
Oil paint on paper with walnut frame
In Soft Green Twilight No. 2, Donald Schenkel works in a remarkably traditional way, layer by layer, with slow-drying oil paint that allows for subtle transitions and lasting depth. The surface may appear effortless, but it is the result of countless thin glazes and hours of drying time between each layer.
By working patiently and without digital tools, Schenkel continues a centuries-old painting tradition, using time itself as a material. The result is a sense of calm and precision that feels both timeless and contemporary.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
70 × 70 cm, 2024
Oil paint on synthetic canvas
Donald Schenkel's latest series explores the idea of paintings as screens, inspired by the seemingly digital character of the gradients. By suspending the works from the wall, they evoke the feel of computer screens. He draws on the historical shift in art from symbolic and spiritual meanings to alternate realities, which evolved further with the introduction of cinema, and digital screens.
As we grow up with digital screens, images are increasingly seen as generated, rather than physical objects. Schenkel questions if the same becomes true for paintings.Will future generations understand a painting as more than a screen-like image? His use of materials like thin sheets of paper highlights this tension, as what appears digital is, in fact, created using techniques that stem back from the early Renaissance.The perception of reality and the interpretation of the painting is changed by the material aspects of the object itself and how we view them in today’s day and age.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
51 × 37 cm, 2025
Oil on linen, on wood
In Donald Schenkel’s work, painting becomes a means to examine the tension between control and intuition, surface and depth. Through abstract compositions, he investigates how colour, form and material can suggest space without representing it, how a shift in texture or transparency can alter perception.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
51 × 37 cm, 2025
Oil on linen, on wood
In Donald Schenkel’s work, painting becomes a means to examine the tension between control and intuition, surface and depth. Through abstract compositions, he investigates how colour, form and material can suggest space without representing it, how a shift in texture or transparency can alter perception.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
84 × 50 cm, 2025
Oil on linen
In Donald Schenkel’s work, painting becomes a means to examine the tension between control and intuition, surface and depth. Through abstract compositions, he investigates how colour, form and material can suggest space without representing it, how a shift in texture or transparency can alter perception.
Delivery within the Netherlands and Belgium is arranged in consultation, either in person or securely shipped.
By Donald Schenkel
160 x 120 cm, 2026
oil on canvas, with wooden frame
From the series Painting as screen
With Sudden Flare of Interest, Donald Schenkel continues his exploration of colour as an autonomous element. Built up through numerous layers of oil paint, the composition unfolds gradually, moving from deep blue tones towards a luminous centre of warm orange and white. The painting evokes associations with landscapes, reflections or shifting skies, yet remains firmly rooted in abstraction.
Rather than depicting a specific place, Schenkel creates a space in which atmosphere and perception take centre stage. The slow process of layering and refinement gives the surface depth and subtle complexity, rewarding prolonged viewing. The result is a painting that changes with the surrounding light and invites contemplation without imposing a fixed interpretation.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
157 x 12 x 12 cm each (6 pcs), 2022
Oil paint on linen, European plane wood
The realisation of his new series has resulted from a new research into the approach of paintings as objects. The immaculate colour transitions which characterise Donald Schenkel’s oeuvre melt together with wooden beams, inviting viewers to view the works from different angles. Gradients follow the shape of the wooden beam, allowing the light to travel to different parts of the work, resulting in the oil paint to expose different tones of its colour. In these new works, Donald plays with the concept of minimalism. To form his compositions, he makes use of a geometric rectangular shape, while also using natural products like wood and oil paint that are at odds with minimalism. The colour lines are applied as an interruption of calm tones incorporating emerald green, cerulean blue and coral orange.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
180 x 120 cm, 2021
Oil paint on linen
From the series Light As Translucency.
With subtle oil paint colour gradients, Donald creates art works that express a certain clarity and peace. When taking a second, closer look, the digital, visual language of the work seems to be based on the materiality of the paint. Each work is unique. Donald doesn’t approach oil paint as a medium to paint an image, but purely as a material that exposes the behaviour of colours.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
180 x 140 cm, 2021
Oil paint on linen
From the series Light As Translucency.
With subtle oil paint colour gradients, Donald Schenkel creates art works that express a certain clarity and peace. When taking a second, closer look, the digital, visual language of the work seems to be based on the materiality of the paint. Each work is unique. Donald doesn’t approach oil paint as a medium to paint an image, but purely as a material that exposes the behaviour of colours.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
180 x 130 cm, 2021
Oil paint on linen
From the series Archaic Shadows.
Opposite the expanse of lightness, there is the depth expressed by shadows. The series Archaic Shadows is grounded in this depth, found in gradients where lighter colours dissolve into darkening twilights. For Donald Schenkel the book In Praise of Shadows points out the beauty of what we would consider darkness, and that befits the sensibility of these artworks. Shadows linger on the edge of the unknown, mystical and dark. Often made on wood and shaped into sculptures, the colour transitions in this series are grounded but deep. As his first venture into sculptural paintings these works sparked his attention to the object, the artefact and the archaic. This sensation of the ancient and otherworldly fits his idea of a silent wonder well yet contains a potency to be further explored.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
180 x 120 cm, 2021
Oil paint on linen
From the series Orange Wave
With subtle oil paint colour gradients, Donald Schenkel creates art works that express a certain clarity and peace. When taking a second, closer look, the digital, visual language of the work seems to be based on the materiality of the paint. Each work is unique. Donald doesn’t approach oil paint as a medium to paint an image, but purely as a material that exposes the behaviour of colours.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
180 x 120 cm, 2022
Oil paint on linen
From the series Orange Wave
Fascinated by the possibilities of oil paint in relation to its materiality, Donald Schenkel’s work is visualised through the creation of subtle colour gradients that express rhythm and serenity. Rather than as a medium in and of itself, Donald approaches oil paint purely as a material that exposes the behaviour of pigments. Experiments with contrasting colours and diverse surfaces such as glass, aluminium and canvas result in immersive illusions that leave spectators to wonder. What may seem digital at a first glance is actually the result of a self developed painting technique combining traditional materials and methods. The perception of reality and the interpretation of the painting is changed by the material aspects of the object itself, creating endless possibilities.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
165 x 140 cm, 2021
Oil paint on linen
From the series Vibrancy
With subtle oil paint colour gradients, Donald Schenkel creates art works that express a certain clarity and peace. When taking a second, closer look, the digital, visual language of the work seems to be based on the materiality of the paint. Each work is unique. Donald doesn’t approach oil paint as a medium to paint an image, but purely as a material that exposes the behaviour of colours.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
110 x 160 cm, 2022
Oil paint on linen
From the series Archaic Shadows.
Opposite the expanse of lightness, there is the depth expressed by shadows. The series Archaic Shadows is grounded in this depth, found in gradients where lighter colours dissolve into darkening twilights. For Donald Schenkel the book In Praise of Shadows points out the beauty of what we would consider darkness, and that befits the sensibility of these artworks. Shadows linger on the edge of the unknown, mystical and dark. Often made on wood and shaped into sculptures, the colour transitions in this series are grounded but deep. As his first venture into sculptural paintings these works sparked his attention to the object, the artefact and the archaic. This sensation of the ancient and otherworldly fits his idea of a silent wonder well yet contains a potency to be further explored.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
120 x 160 cm, 2022
Oil paint on linen
From the series Archaic Shadows.
Opposite the expanse of lightness, there is the depth expressed by shadows. The series Archaic Shadows is grounded in this depth, found in gradients where lighter colours dissolve into darkening twilights. For Donald Schenkel the book In Praise of Shadows points out the beauty of what we would consider darkness, and that befits the sensibility of these artworks. Shadows linger on the edge of the unknown, mystical and dark. Often made on wood and shaped into sculptures, the colour transitions in this series are grounded but deep. As his first venture into sculptural paintings these works sparked his attention to the object, the artefact and the archaic. This sensation of the ancient and otherworldly fits his idea of a silent wonder well yet contains a potency to be further explored.
Personal delivery and installation within the Netherlands and Belgium are included with this work.
By Donald Schenkel
58 x Ø 8 cm x 3, 2024
Oil paint on aluminium withstainless steel caps
This new series of wall sculptures unite recurring materials in Donald Schenkel’s practice, such as oil paint, aluminium and mirrors. The colour gradients evoke a sense of endlessness which is reflected in cylindrical shapes. Oil paints are not approached as a means to create an image but are rather grounded in their materiality. Researching the behaviour of colours and their material variations, Donald explores how these differences and their interactions expose the different qualities of each colour. This revealing of colours and their qualities is deepened by the three dimensional shape of the works; a multitude of tonalities within the gradient is laid bare, emphasised by the formed shadows of the object.
Delivery in the Netherlands and Belgium is complimentary and arranged with care, either in person or via secure shipment.
By Donald Schenkel
59 cm x Ø 8 cm x 3, 2024
Oil paint on plastic with stainless steel caps
This new series of wall sculptures unite recurring materials in Donald Schenkel’s practice, such as oil paint, aluminium and mirrors. The colour gradients evoke a sense of endlessness which is reflected in cylindrical shapes. Oil paints are not approached as a means to create an image but are rather grounded in their materiality. Researching the behaviour of colours and their material variations, Donald explores how these differences and their interactions expose the different qualities of each colour. This revealing of colours and their qualities is deepened by the three dimensional shape of the works; a multitude of tonalities within the gradient is laid bare, emphasised by the formed shadows of the object.
Delivery in the Netherlands and Belgium is complimentary and arranged with care, either in person or via secure shipment.
By Donald Schenkel
59 cm x Ø 7,5 cm, 2024
Oil paint on plastics with stainless steel caps
This new series of wall sculptures unite recurring materials in Donald Schenkel’s practice, such as oil paint, aluminium and mirrors. The colour gradients evoke a sense of endlessness which is reflected in cylindrical shapes. Oil paints are not approached as a means to create an image but are rather grounded in their materiality. Researching the behaviour of colours and their material variations, Donald explores how these differences and their interactions expose the different qualities of each colour. This revealing of colours and their qualities is deepened by the three dimensional shape of the works; a multitude of tonalities within the gradient is laid bare, emphasised by the formed shadows of the object.
Delivery in the Netherlands and Belgium is complimentary and arranged with care, either in person or via secure shipment.
Recent art fairs
2026 - Art Rotterdam, Root Gallery - Rotterdam, The Netherlands, March - group
2025 - PAN Amsterdam, Root Gallery - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, November - group
2025 - KunstRAI, Root Gallery - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May - group
2024 - Art The Hague, Fokker Terminal - the Hague, the Netherlands, October - group
2024 - ENTER Art Fair, Lokomotivværkstedet - Copenhagen, Denmark, Root Gallery - group
2023 - Art The Hague, Fokker Terminal - the Hague, the Netherlands, October - group
2023 - KunstRAI, Root Gallery - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May - group
2022 - KunstRAI, Root Gallery - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April - group
2021 - The Others Art Fair, Root Gallery - Turin, Italy, November - group
2021 - KunstRAI, Amsterdam RAI - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, September - group
2020 - Big Art, Root Gallery - Amsterdam, October - solo
“The work comes alive when someone recognises its quiet truth.”
By Donald Schenkel
40 × 30 cm, 2025
Oil paint on linen, on wood
Cobalt Light is a small, minimal painting built around a slow transition of colour. In this work, Donald Schenkel allows pale blue tones to move gradually towards a soft, sandy base. The gradient is carefully constructed, with no abrupt shifts, giving the surface a calm, even presence.
The painting responds subtly to natural light. Depending on the moment of the day, the colours appear slightly cooler or warmer, making the work quietly dynamic without becoming dominant. Its restrained palette and clean composition make it easy to live with, while still offering depth on closer inspection.
With its modest scale, Cobalt Light is an accessible entry point into Schenkel’s practice. It works well on its own, but can also be combined with other small works as part of a refined, minimal arrangement. The painting comes ready to place on the wall; framing options are available upon request.
This work will be shipped within the Netherlands and Belgium at no additional cost, securely and with tracking.