Born: 1967 in Delft, The Netherlands
Media: Drawing, Painting
Education: Willem de Kooning Academy and Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam; Study programme at the Maryland Institute College of Art
Artistic Position
Marie Louise Elshout’s work combines the precision of drawing with the depth of layered painting. Her images are populated by hybrid human and animal figures, disguises and transformations. These beings resist clear categorisation, remaining at once familiar and unfamiliar.
Historical photographs, daguerreotypes, folklore, fairy tales and rituals form a rich visual point of departure. Rather than recreating nostalgic scenes, Elshout transforms these references into a contemporary visual language. Hundreds of finely drawn coloured pencil lines, charcoal and transparent layers of oil paint create surfaces of remarkable precision and atmospheric depth. Her works explore identity, power, care and the complex relationship between humanity and nature.
Selected Highlights
- Studied Painting and Printmaking at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam.
- Works are included in the permanent collection of Museum Gouda, the Caldic Collection and other Dutch public and private collections.
- Long standing exhibition activity throughout the Netherlands and internationally, as well as membership in several artist collectives.