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harlingen

BIO

Renske Herder is a multidisciplinary artist and designer, born in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands (1986). She works in the fields of textile design, collage, graphic art and painting. She received her master's degree in Industrial Design Engineering and honered her skills working in the field of surface design and product styling. She also worked as a pottery painter in the traditional majolica technique (Delfts Blauw). 

She decided to dedicate more of her time to art making and time outdoors. She quit her job to paint more and now lives and works on the Caribbean island Bonaire with her husband and two boys of 2 and 5 years old. 

Renske’s body of work consists of figurative paintings, abstract paintings and mixed media artworks. Her artworks often have a highly graphic character and explore the combination of realistic figures with abstract textile patterns and quilting patterns. 

Next Solo Show will open December 16th at the Sobremesa gallery in Kralendijk, Bonaire. 

about my art practice

Tranquility and simplicity are the things I'm always looking for in my artwork. This must also be the reason I live on an island. I love the imperfection that life on an island brings. Another thing I'm drawn to is the past and how people lived before these hectic times. I like to imagine how people lived and also how they made things. I'm fascinated by the crafts like basket weaving, quilting, rug making, ceramics and more of these old crafts. My experience as a graphic designer and stylist is clearly reflected in my work as is my time spend at a traditional Dutch pottery painting company. 

I like to address in my work that we've lost something as a society. Peace, tranquility, the making of things and repairing things. A slow life. I'm looking for it in my art practice. I'm also interested by the women of the past, the amazing things they could make. We've lost a lot of knowledge, skills and a way of working in the household. I don't look down on that, I respect jobs like doing the laundry, cooking, repairing clothes and stuff like that. 

I like to use found things in my artworks, sometimes trash, beach finds or a broken bag. Mixed media and collaging things together is the basis of my working method. This is where I can be surprised and it allows me to be playful in my art. 

One day I would like to work together with an artisan in weaving, quilting or something like that.

Things I love besides creating

Family

This is our family. We live on the caribbean island Bonaire. This is where we can live a real beach / outdoor life and still have a structured daily routine with our children. It's the best of both worlds at the moment.  

Bike packing

We cycled from Harlingen, The Netherlands to Barcelona. This is the most fun thing I ever did and I'm dreaming of doing a big trip again. We have little children now, so I don't know when it's going to be...

camping

I love outdoorsy stuff like camping. This picture is made during our bicycle trip. 

Kitesurfing

I used to be really stoked about kitesurfing and also participated in competitions. I still love it, but now it's more of a nice workout and getaway to me. I'm a real beach and ocean lover, so it's always fun to go out. 

My family, bike packing adventures, the ocean, camping.


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