Mieke
de Waal

‘My aspiration: disarming work on the great themes of life’

Good art captures your attention, plays with it, and lures it back when you wanted to get to the daily life. I like it when art is non-hermetic but open and enigmatic, when it raises big questions. Who are we? Where are we from? How do we relate to the world around us?

My work is tactile, seemingly vulnerable, colourful, often sober in shape and with a skin on which there is a lot to experience. Each work carries its own story. For example: about being born in a different place than where life has brought you now.

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Mieke and her artwork

Disiplines and materials

Two- and three-dimensional art in mixed media

Map, textiles, paper, ink, acrylic, tree bark

Motto

My ambition: to create disarming works on the larger themes of life’

Vision

My work can be both two- and three-dimensional. For the spatial work, I often choose a mix of soft materials that I form into soft sculptures: floating painted objects that bring 'the human' into a space. I often choose a form that symbolizes the human being: from a tiny dress to a more than man-sized kimono.

Characteristic of my work process is that I immerse myself - sometimes for months - in a theme. The actual making process is also investigative, experimenting with materials and techniques. Besides being a visual artist, I am also trained as a cultural anthropologist. These two fields of interest - art and man - come together in my visual work.

Reation to Expo

I love it when art is non-hermetic but open and enigmatic, when it raises big questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? How do we relate to the world around us?

Find out more about Mieke de Waal

My collection

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Mieke de Waal