LIESBETH BIJKERK

“The starting point of my paintings is not visual reality; I do not depict anything. You could think of my work as traces of memories.”

Liesbeth Bijkerk (1957), born in Hollandia, Papua New Guinea, currently lives and works in Renkum. She graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts in Utrecht (1984) and Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht (1988). Bijkerk has been exhibiting her work in galleries and museums. Among these are Museum De Pont (Tilburg), Museum Bélvédère (Heerenveen), Kunsthal (Rotterdam) and Art Rotterdam. Furthermore, her work is part of public collections such as Museum Belvédère (Heerenveen), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The Hague) and various private collections.

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Bijkerk’s works can be seen as traces of memories. The inspiration may be something she has seen, read or heard. It may be a personal experience, but also the work of others: paintings, frescoes, drawings, texts, and pieces of music. After these things have occupied her thoughts for a while, they become mental impressions without a tangible form, detached from sensory experiences. With these kinds of impressions, Bijkerk composes independent images, far from everything that surrounds us every day.

In her most recent work, the difference between foreground and background is more pronounced. This creates a greater suggestion of layers and depth. The colorful shapes in the foreground are painted very meticulously. They stand out or blend in with a much more loosely painted background. Bijkerk’s aim is to create paintings that are as open as possible to everyone’s interpretation.