I give forgotten paintings a second life

I’m Wesley Altena, an artist from the Netherlands who hunts for abandoned paintings in thrift stores and antique markets across the Benelux. When I find the right one, my brain starts spinning. I already see the finished piece.

What I do is simple in theory, but precise in practice. I carefully add characters and icons from 80s and 90s pop culture — movies, music, games — and sometimes today’s classics. The key is that the addition has to match the original painting’s style, brushwork and colour palette as closely as possible.

The result is often almost invisible at first glance. You look… and then you look again. Suddenly a DeLorean is parked next to a Dutch barn, or a Stormtrooper is standing in a quiet landscape. That moment of discovery is what I love most.

Every painting becomes a small cultural puzzle — a mix of nostalgia, humour and unexpected storytelling. I want people to smile when they recognise something from their childhood in a place they never expected to find it.

I’ve exhibited in places like the Kruisherenklooster in Maastricht and the Amstelkerk in the heart of Amsterdam, and my work has been featured in various magazines and newspapers. But at the core it remains the same: finding forgotten art and giving it a new, playful life.