In the studio with….Edith Snoek
20 July 2021
As an artist how do you keep up with what is happening in the art world?
Art is my life. I absorb everything within reach. During the pandemic it felt like a big loss not being able to enjoy art in museums, theatres etc. I did discover Instagram however. Through this medium I got to hear about many artists and galleries that I am now following. Now that lockdown eases, various events are in the diary. The Verbeke Foundation is penciled in, as are the Noord Brabants Museum, the Triennial in Kortrijk [Belgium] and the Biennial in Oosterhout [The Netherlands]. I am planning to talk to various galleries about exhibiting my work.
What is your favourite work of art?
To be honest I do not have one favourite work but there are a couple of contemporary artists whose work I admire very much. Michael Raedecker springs to mind first and foremost because of his stark atmospheric depictions, the portraits of Marlène Dumas, Rineke Dijkstra’s photographs of vulnerable children and also Jan Mankes, again because of his stark, still depictions.
Then there is Mary Waters, her portraits are inspired by the classical paintings of Western Europe. She was influenced by the way the Dutch Masters of the 17th Century managed to portray their sitters very realistically. She often paints identical portraits next to each other. It is incredibly difficult to be truly original, and I discovered her works after I had painted many works in this style myself.
The Renaissance Portrait of Bia de' Medici (circa 1542) by Agnolo Bronzino is admittedly a favourite. Bia sat for several artists, this work is in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. These are just a number of artists and works, I can name many more!
Edith Snoek - Looking Up
What is your favourite art book?
My favourite art book is Verf (Paint) in which Hans den Hartog Jager interviews 14 Dutch artists. Not the idea but how their paintings come about is at the forefront...I regularly pick it up to read some pages. I have many books about artists I admire and I love reading poems by Rutger Kopland and Willem Wilmink.
The first art book in my collection was a Co Westerik book. What attracted me to his work is the atmosphere, the composition and the way he depicts his models. It has something humoristic, it reminds me of my daughters.
What are you currently on and what inspired you to make this work?
Currently I am working on large portraits. These are a result of the landscape series I produced recently. Landscape really is the wrong word, the works are reminiscent of landscapes, ambient images with, at times, elements of drawing.
At the start of 2020 I moved to the province of Zeeland [in the South West of The Netherlands]. Peace and space were what I was looking for and what I found. Because of the pandemic I had time to explore the landscape. A series of quiet landscapes originated, atmospheric images really. Relief and structure were very important, the colours often monochromatic, tonal.
The urge to paint portraits returned and since I had a couple of pre-worked canvases, I drew large women portraits on them. Through this relief and structure, a new series emerged. Meanwhile, I have produced ten or so of those. I now want to move my focus to a series of girls for which I have produced a number of sketches; I feel ready to make those.
What would you like a collector to look at and know about your work?
My work is inherently about the world around me. The things that move me are the inspiration for mij paintings. Beauty, vulnerability and innocence. When my daughter was eight years old, she stood next to my bed with her Pink Panther because she couldn’t sleep. I knew I wanted to paint her. This was the motivation to go to art college.
Actually I don’t think the viewer needs to know the background to a painting. Generally I do not give my work titles because these could be leading. I would like everyone to decide for themselves what it means to them.
One thing is sure, my soul and salvation are embedded in my work. I work on a number of series. A gallery once asked me only to paint girls. Especially several next to each other as these sold so well. But I do not want to paint to earn. I want to play, discover and be surprised. Sometimes a painting takes me in a different direction. If that happens I need to save the original idea for another work. It can take me a long time to finish one painting. It can be a struggle. Paint s applied in thick layers, removed, destroyed and scratch. I will carry on until I feel that it is right.
Edith Snoek - Pretty Cold