07 january 2025, Flor Linckens
Annemieke Alberts: freedom in space and colour
Last weekend, Galerie Roger Katwijk in Amsterdam opened the exhibition 'A Colourshaped Room' by Annemieke Alberts. This new series of paintings centres on mental spaces: rooms that evoke memories or fleeting dreams. Through her subtle use of paint and colour, Alberts creates a tension that is both visually and emotionally palpable.
The work of the Dutch artist is characterised by a delicate interplay of light, colour and space, where solid forms alternate with ethereal, fragile-looking planes. In these elusive environments, floors and walls seem to drift like thin, misty veils across the canvas. Light, an unguided yet omnipresent protagonist, flows through the compositions as though from every direction. Occasionally, it appears to enter through imagined windows, imbuing the space with an ethereal, dreamlike quality.
But are these planes that define the rooms really walls? Or could the vibrant planes of fuchsia pink, cool yellow and royal blue dissolve into air at any moment? Perhaps they hint at potential escape routes. As a viewer, you soon realise that these spaces are not physically accessible; they exist solely within the artist’s imagination. At the same time, the presence of scattered debris and construction materials — the only human traces amidst these surreal worlds — adds a jarring element. A plank casually leaning against a doorframe or two vertical panes of glass, seemingly held standing by a thin thread, introduce a sense of fragility. Even the reflections in the glass seem deliberately off-kilter. Alberts explores boundaries — not only between interior and exterior spaces but also between reality and fiction. The titles of her works, including "What Remains", "The Fathers’ Room", "Hidden Treasure" and "Threshold", add to their mystery. Alberts’ visual language hovers between recognisable forms and an abstract interpretation of neo-constructivism.
Her fascination with space and reflection began during a visit to New York, where a reflective glass door made her acutely aware of the interplay between interior and exterior worlds, all within a single image. This theme runs throughout her oeuvre. In earlier works, Alberts translated this inspiration into landscapes, cityscapes, dancers in motion and architectural spaces. In her practice, she delves into the meanings we, consciously or unconsciously, assign to spaces—meanings shaped by status, hierarchy, power, structure and prevailing norms.
Raised in an orthodox Christian community in Krommenie, Alberts left this closed world at the age of 18, an experience that has undeniably shaped her artistic practice. Her paintings are, in a sense, a search for places defined by freedom and openness, where rules and structures are effectively dismantled.
Alberts’ paintings are meticulously constructed from thin layers of paint, a process she describes as a continual search. “It begins with an experience, a memory from my childhood, or an image encountered in my surroundings or during a journey,” she writes on her website. “In my studio, everything is rearranged and reordered. The painting takes shape in thin layers of paint, still barely structured, as I search. This often means removing a lot — sometimes by scraping or sanding. Bright planes of colour provide solidity and structure to the work. In this way, something can emerge that grows slowly into something that did not exist before. But the doubt that preceded the final stage must remain visible.” Her method reflects an essential theme: the freedom of a space in which nothing is predetermined. At times, she uses turpentine to dissolve parts of the image.
Annemieke Alberts was born in 1963 in Krommenie. She currently lives and works in Amersfoort. Alberts studied art education in Amsterdam, where she discovered her talent for painting. In 2011, she won the jury prize at the Summer Exhibition in the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. Since then, she has exhibited at Pulchri Studio, the Mondriaanhuis and the Latitudes of Art IV Biennial in Genoa. She also participated in the talent show De Nieuwe Rembrandt. In 2024, her work was featured in the group exhibition Kunst van nu at Museum Flehite in Amersfoort. Her work is part of collections at institutions such as Erasmus MC, VU Medical Centre, Triodos Bank, DELA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
