Marian Verdonk

Marian Verdonk creates monumental wool paintings in which softness takes on an impressive strength. Using loose wool fibres, texture and movement, she creates wall objects that are not only meant to be seen, but almost felt. Her work invites the viewer to slow down: to pause, come closer and experience what material can do to a space and to emotion. Marian began her career in theatre design, creating costumes for dancers and choreographers. That background is still tangible in her art: her works seem to move, as though fibres, hair and wool respond to air, light and rhythm. After studying painting, monumental design and ceramics, she discovered the punch technique in 2012. With it, she found a working method in which her love of textile, painting and spatial form could come together. Using felting needles, Marian bonds loose wool fibres together. In this way, she creates free, layered surfaces that remain open and breathable. The natural movement of the wool is not concealed, but becomes an essential part of the composition. Colours flow, fibres rise, lines move through the image. Her works feel like inner landscapes: sometimes quiet and light, sometimes powerful and full of movement. Vulnerability plays a central role in her art. Wool is soft, tactile and seemingly fragile, yet in her hands it grows into a monumental image with a strong presence. Marian makes the invisible tangible: energy, growth, transience, tension and calm all take shape in fibres and colour. Her wool paintings also transform the experience of an interior. They bring tactility and softness to the wall, adding an almost sensory layer to the space. From a distance, you see a poetic composition; up close, you discover the hairs, textures and subtle colour transitions. The work of Marian Verdonk is art that slows the gaze and makes a space feel softer.

format:  150 x 75 cm

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