I am trained as an artist at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam (graduated in 1992). Since then I have found my way in the field of autonomy and applied arts as an artist and designer.

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I can list the following words to describe my work: detail, subtle, space and negative space, materials, layers and contrasts. I like all forms of repetition, which I use a lot in my work, whether in silk printing, lino cutting or sequential drawings. Certain objects that fascinate me, I have been using in my work for years. And I cannot image that I will ever abandon reproducing their shapes.

 

Archaeological and ethnographic objects, everyday objects of use are my mean inspiration; they speak to me. How objects were made by hand, layer by layer, inspires me and moves me. The colours and materials of these artefacts are a constant inspiration for my work.

 

By drawing an object again and again, the shape of that object becomes so familiar to me that it nestles in my hand. I can then reproduce the object without thinking or looking at the original. In this process I will loose some aspects of its form and texture, and I will gain something else. There is a constant tension between the re-shaping of an object and the possible loss of important details. Thus an object slowly transforms into something new.

 

In my compositions, the areas outside the shape of the objects I draw, are particularly interesting for me. For instance the rest-shape or negative space left outside the boundaries of an object in a linocut or paper template. I like to let that area inspire me and find a perfect new shape to work with.

 

I use printing techniques, linocuts and paper templates, combined with paper, tape, stamps, ink, pencil and lines to create new work. Thus collecting different form of paper, antique and used, stained and decoloured is an important preparation for me. I benefit from the textures and colours these materials bring, and use them in different layers.

 

Working with layers in my work is almost a necessity for me. Literally layering different materials brings a depth and tension in my work I find very important. This layering is very much part of my everyday life as well; I think in layers, I see layers everywhere and I understand the world around me because of layers.

 

My work originates in figurative art, but evolves into a figurative abstraction.