more info and methode of work
Info Paintings and Photocollages
Sandra Maarhuis was born in 1972, in Rotterdam. In 2001 she graduated from the Art Academy of Kampen. It was there that she mastered her painting skills. After graduating, the Dutch Art Institute offered her a place in their Master of Fine Arts course. During this two year course she was taught by Peter Struyken and Emo Verkerk, and she obtained her Master's Degree in 2003.
Apart from commissioned works and the sale of her work, her main ambition is to further develop her free artwork. A recurring theme in her visual art is the beauty that is concealed in everyday life. In awe of detail, situation or people.
And this admiration is the start of each of her paintings.
By painting in a figurative-bordering on realistic-way, she is able to portray the subject as recognizable as possible. The final goal is to let the painting exceed the picture. To be captivated first before realising it's a "picture in a frame".
Besides paintings, Sandra Maarhuis also does photo collages.
Sandra Maarhuis: "Painting can be such a tough discipline that photo collages are a way for me to blow off steam".
A recurring theme in her collages is the beauty of everyday life. This results in a wide variety of subjects, ranging from buildings and interiors to still lifes.
Yet each work reflects the amazement with which she turns small, everyday things into monumental objects. By taking several pictures of small fragments of the subject, she creates puzzle-like mosaics in which surprisingly, the subject is still recognizable in a clear, powerful way.
The pictures are taken from one single viewpoint (using a tripod), which results in a sense of fragmentized alienation.
Sandra Maarhuis: 'By using these techniques I'm able to create a new image, and add my own astonishment to the existing one'.