The star of Peggy Kuiper (b. 1986) is rising. In the past year the young artist has been in the magazines. With publications in Vogue Living, Harper's Bazaar and Het Parool, you can feel in your bones that the Netherlands has gained a great artist. Everyone wants something from Peggy.
The Conversation That Never Took Place
In het afgelopen anderhalf jaar heeft Peggy Kuiper meer dan 50 nieuwe werken gemaakt, waaronder etsen en schilderijen. Onlangs debuteerde Kuiper met de solotentoonstelling “The Conversation That Never Took Place.” in Reflex Amsterdam.
Cooper's art
Kuiper paints abstract portraits of memories. The brush strokes evoke sensations, wrapping and preserving each memory in a thick layer of paint on her signature portraits. The figures embody feelings and echoes of the past, acting as the logic of memory itself; it is compelling and experienced as unique, yet common and unifying to us all. Memory and emotional experience require vulnerability. In Kuiper's portraits, she refuses any implication of fragility; she insists on the fierce strength it brings. Ultimately, her portraits are studies of endurance.
While the palette is borrowed from the natural world, the figures are abstract, leaning toward an imaginary world. Constructed of several layers of paint, in clearly separated fields of color, they are rendered nude in soft, earthy tones. They often wear masks, offering themselves to the viewer while simultaneously remaining hidden. They are the result of a labor-intensive process of erasure and addition, and other paintings may be hidden beneath the final motif. As such, Kuiper's works are vessels of mystery, memory and muses.
Who is Peggy Kuiper?
Peggy Kuiper (b. 1986, Haarlem, Netherlands) was originally trained as a graphic designer and educated by Anthon Beeke, a monumental figure in Dutch graphic design. Longing for artistic freedom, Kuiper changed career paths and paved her way to a successful career in photography. In 2019, she returned to painting, and with a distinct signature and undeniable talent, she has established herself as a unique voice, balancing on a thin edge between tenderness and herculean strength.
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Art Book
For the exhibition, Reflex worked closely with the artist to produce a book with beautiful essays by Daniel Humm, the celebrated three-star chef of Eleven Madison Park in New York, internationally renowned artist Roger Ballen and Katya Tylevich, the author of "Marina Abramović: A Visual Biography." The book contains a large selection of works created over the past 4 years.