Reviews
Nearly Famous!
Despite coming to painting later in life, she has quickly found her own voice - to wide acclaim
Maria Kuipers is not related to the Albion player, and she is a little fed up with being asked about it. I enjoy hearing her rally against such minor frustrations as I get the impression that she must keep huge reserves of feeling to channel into her art. But, despite their intensity, Maria’s paintings are carefully measured labours of love.
Since graduating in 1998 with a first class degree in fine art, Maria’s success has snowballed. Invitations to exhibit in London and San Francisco seem unceasing. Having waged a wee war with Maria’s modesty, I understand her work is acclaimed wherever it is shown, from St Ives to Northampton. Not bad for someone who only started painting seriously in her late 40s.
Her abstract works are most often small in scale and use a limited colour palette, though a flash of colour might break up the scene. They quietly demand that you take a step closer and watch and listen with patience. At first glance, a shape may be reminiscent of a familiar object, which offers you a route in. My personal favourite is the painting I think of as ‘the Hansel and Gretel painting’. At the centre of what seems to be a hearth is a tiny, jewel-like piece of embroidery. But Maria has called the painting Ascension. She explains that, through a short-lived religious phase of her life, a deep spirituality endured.
I am intrigued by her philosophical approach and her ability to seek both balance and the paradox in all things. She talks about her work in terms of in dichotomies: “fusions of masculine and feminine ... of movement and stillness ... of illness and restoration”. Perhaps an uncanny ability to translate onto canvas the many difficulties life has thrown at her is why her work appeals so widely.
At home, Maria is surrounded by the chaos of building work, as even more of her living space is turned over to art. She is currently excited by a new project: she wants to produce a book on the development of her work. Maria is serious about her future as a professional artist. This and the fact that she still has so much to say suggests that, unlike her sporting namesake, this is not a talent due for burnout.
Kate Blok
