RENEE DE VRIES, ARTIST

Amsterdam artist Renee de Vries exhibits her work this week in MASTERS Gallery. Her practice is inspired by

The Amsterdam artist Renee de Vries is 'exhibiting' her works of art in MASTERS Gallery this week. Inspired by sunny countries, new cultures and inspiring people, Renee creates the most diverse creations with her palette knife. Her works have been exhibited in numerous exhibitions, including the Nieuwe Kerk and De Suikerhof in Amsterdam. Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: Renee de Vries

Querida Katie, echa de menos a su familia

“This is my most recent painting: Of paint is still wet, so to speak. For me the subject of this painting is very special. I'm currently staying for a few months Curaçao and this is where I met Katie. Katie is a young Venezuelan who came to Curaçao four years ago - legally, as a 'tourist' - to earn money for her children and extended family in Venezuela. So she did not return when she had to leave Curaçao again. And so remained on the island as an undocumented person. Illegal and with an expired passport. Working hard for her family. She had to feel the loss of her children for four years: this became heavier and heavier. There was no way to return. Until last week: Venezuela agreed to a repatriation flight for 120 Venezuelans! The person who had been taking care of Katie for a while immediately started working for her. The result? At the time I am writing this, Katie is in a hotel in Venezuela where she has to stay for three days and then she can finally go home to hold children and extended family in her arms. It portrait I wanted to make a photo of Katie out of deep respect for her. I wish her all the happiness in the world and it has been a privilege to get to know her.”

Freedom

“This is my biggest one cloth. An old one, from 2000. It hangs in my house and takes up an entire wall. And I like this painting. I made it after I came back from South Africa, after visiting my sister. A country that is unique in terms of beauty nature it is almost impossible to describe, so beautiful. But of course also a country where apartheid played a role for so long. A country with a lot of abuses, which is the biggest population group it was just hard. But after the joy and the hope Mandela his release and after his presidential electionI still remember a lot about that. Dancing people in a field, color, movement and more color. I wanted to depict the feeling of freedom. And not tied to South Africa alone.”

La Môme Piaf

“France: the cuisine, the language, the great New wave films and the French Chanson, I love them so much. In 2016 I made four paintings of four – in my opinion – phenomenal French people. Jacques Brel, Jeanne Moreau, Brigitte Bardot and 'La Môme (Edith) Piaf'. All painted pasty with palette knives. And in shades of blue with a few different color accents. I have a thing for that. Portraits in blue. In any case, with all shades of blue. Sometimes also from sadness about the loss of people I love very much, every day, even though they are no longer there. They are actually a kind of periodic blue periods. Anyway, here we have Edith Piaf 'en bleue'. For me, this painting radiates her emotional power. La Môme Piaf (the little sparrow) with the big voice! The four portraits taken were all given a place in a restaurant (Chez Brigitte) in the south of France.”