Eveline Kolijn

Ozymandias Look + zoom	There Will Always Be Another + zoom	Prometheus Destiny + zoom	Prometheus Stone + zoom
Prometheus Bound + zoom	Foothills Patterns Intaglio + zoom	Glacier Patterns Intaglio + zoom	Mirage Silkscreen + zoom
Peyto Rock Intaglio + zoom	Phyto Proto Zooicum Intaglio + zoom	The Struggle of War and Peace + zoom	Toward Extinction Woodcut + zoom

What is your artwork about (underlying concept, focus, themes, intent, etc)?

My art evolves out of my personal interest in subjects like the diversity of human culture and forms and mechanisms found in nature. Those two things are of course interrelated, as part of human culture is highly determined by its physical surroundings. In order to explain our existence within the universe humanity has also perceived a variety of different religious beliefs and philosophies and developed science to investigate the processes that shape and rule nature and life.

Nature doesn't know the tyranny of the straight line. It has all sorts of interesting curving lines and shapes. The beauty of these organic forms is that they are not random, but have their own logic and organization. This is the core of inspiration in my art. Depending on the medium I choose, my images range from more generalized to extremely detailed. Sometimes the shapes of nature morph into a fantasized play of lines and patterns. I like to explore the border between reality and fantasy.

Vision, combined with our other senses, helps us to perceive our physical reality. However, this reality is relative. Other living species see, hear, sense, smell and taste the world differently than we do. We have used scientific research to expand perception of our world. We can magnify the micro- and macro cosmos making it visible to us; even light, the source that makes visible, can be dissected into a spectrum. Our mind also allows us to experience a non-physical world of memories, dreams and imagination. The unlimited imagination of the human mind is a source of personal fascination.

What stimulates my own imagination? Natural history and nature; organisms; organic shapes; patterns and ornament; diversity of human culture; human made machinery; environment and pollution; the concept of life and philosophical ideas concerning our human existence.

What informs your artwork or what are your influences?

Having traveled a lot, I have visually absorbed a variety of exotic landscapes. Rocks, woods, the sea and changes in light and atmosphere can trigger an idea for an image. Sometimes, music can trigger an idea as well. Published images of micro- and macro cosmos inspire me. I am definitely influenced by the organic, sinuous lines and shapes of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. As a child I absorbed the rich heritage of illustration in that period which still reflects in my work.

What matters to you most about the work that you do?

What matters most to me is that I experience this certain thrill in converting an idea or visual image in my head into an actual image on a two-dimensional support. As long as that feeling remains fresh, my imagery is valid and creative. To keep that freshness, I like to experiment with different styles and mediums, but even within that experimentation my art turns out to be mostly figurative, elaborate and within the frame work of personal interests.

Do you feel you need to position your work within the context of art history and if so what's your take on that?

There is no necessity for me to be placed in an art-historical context. I don't think that even the division in high-art and low-art is necessary. This evolves from the fact that one of my main mediums, print, has a craft-element involved, and that I am personally very much interested in illustration. If there is a tradition in which I could be placed I would call it neo-Art Nouveau.

Is there a trigger or a starting point for each piece?

Starting point for my work is usually a mental visual image that is triggered through an association from something that I see or read. Often this process is cumulative: when I start on an image I associate other ideas with it which leads to new images, etc.

How has your work evolved over the last five years?

Given the fact that I have had a hiatus of producing much art during my 30's, I can certainly conclude my art has become more sophisticated in execution and subject matter in recent years. My vocabulary has expanded due to the training I am receiving at the Alberta College of Art and Design. I have also reflected on specific underlying themes in my art and I am using that more consciously and with greater sophistication than previously.

What is currently the central motivation for or conceptual concern in your work?

Currently, I have shifted some interest from forms in nature to forces in nature. I have produced imagery using kinetic force and I intend to investigate imagery produced by other forces in nature like random movement. This is a new direction in the sense that I cannot completely control the shape and line of the image produced. I tend to be quite controlled in my work and relinquishing that control for a while is one way not to get stuck too much in a certain artistic comfort zone.

How does your physical/geographical environment inform the work you do?

I am influenced by my physical and geographic environment. Living in Canada has heightened the importance of nature in my work. The absence of a long tradition in visual historic culture compared to continents like Europe, Asia and Latin America has lessened the human culture element in my work. Canada has the rich visual culture of its own native people, but I strongly perceive that I would commit cultural appropriation if I used that imagery in my own work.

What mediums, techniques, or processes are involved in your art making (and why these)?

I use print, drawing and painting in my work. For painting, I preferably use oils and aquarelle. In drawing, I use a multimedia approach or pen and ink. Recently however, I have made mainly prints, mostly in relief and intaglio. I enjoy the combination of developing an image and the practical issues involved with the physical print-process. Print-media also seems a good bridge between my personal interest in both fine art and book publishing/illustration.

What are your other passions in life and how have these influenced your work?

My other passions are my family life, photography, traveling and hiking, reading, listening to music and cooking. Digital photography is a tool that I am using a lot lately. It has made the process of recording an arresting visual image much easier. Manipulating images on the computer has also become part of the process of experimenting with or developing visual ideas.

Why are you an artist?

I am an artist because I cannot imagine my life without creating art.

Biography

• 1962: Born as Eveline Vink from Dutch parents in Aix-en-Provence, France
• 1980: An international youth, spent in France, Venezuela, Belgium and the Netherlands Antilles inspires her to study Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands
• 1984: Marries Cornelis Kolijn and departs to Australia for a 3 year period in Tieri, Queensland
• 1985 - 1986: Continues her study and does fieldwork in an Aboriginal reserve resulting in a Master's thesis
• 1987: Repatriation to The Netherlands. She is a full-time mother for her two children
• 1997: Emigration with family to Burlington, Ontario, Canada
• 2001: Moves to Calgary and rekindles career as an artist
• 2003: Becomes Canadian citizen

Selected Exhibitions

Education & Awards

Memberships

• Member of Alberta Printmakers Society (AP).
• Member of Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers (SNAP).
• Active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) - Vancouver and Calgary chapter.

Collections

• Alberta College of Art and Design
• Faculty of Philosophy, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.