ATELIER IMKE MEESTER

Visual artist Imke Meester (Amersfoort, 1966) has been working since 2000 as an autonomous artist in several disciplines, realizing both commissioned and free work.

Due to a wide interest in and fascination for various techniques and materials, a versatile collection has evolved over time, varying from detailed oil paintings and acrylic on panel to sculptures in marble, bronze and mixed media. Both the paintings and the sculptures have a realistic or imaginatively realistic character, whereby the dark side of existence is not avoided in the imagination.

The leitmotif in the work is nature as a source of inspiration as well as social involvement. The works often have a disturbing undertone. Imke Meester creates sculptures and paintings that sprout from a feeling, a fleeting inspiration that initially only indicates a movement or a global form. Fluid lines, dynamics and contrasts in structure characterize her work. The sculptures are realistic / imaginary realistic. In marble, ideas often arise while exploring the rough chunk of stone. The cracks in the material, the drawing of the veins are a guide for the final shape. Especially in marble and granite she likes to work with the contrasts in the material, the raw original beauty of the stone, combined with a polished elaborate shape. Working in wax for the bronze sculptures offers more possibilities for detail. But here too the contrasts in shape and structure are reflected.

In the mixed media images transience is central, inspired by the influence of the elements (the weathering) on ​​stone and wood. With a process developed by herself, she has complete freedom in shaping during creation, resulting in sculptures with an appearance of fragile, weathered porcelain. During the shaping process, the idea behind the shape arises and the contours become clearer. Only in the final stage does it become clear to the artist what the actual image expresses.

In addition to large-format oil paintings (often with a magical realistic character), there are also contemporary icons, acrylic on panel, in which the spatial and planar techniques are combined. Throughout the oeuvre, the underlying idea is to feel the desire for freedom and its curtailment.

Characteristic in the work are the smooth lines and the contrast in the lines or in the material.