"I like to play with balance and time. By connecting the past and present, I create a surreal sense of time. Like there is no time in the image, a frozen moment, kind of floating."
SmithDavidson Gallery is the official gallery for Marie Cecile Thijs with access to the full collection.
Influences reminiscent of the 17th century Old Masters are recurrent in the artist’s work, simultaneously however her personal interpretation is completely contemporary. Thijs plays with her subjects by bringing them to life unexpectedly, or – on the contrary – freezing them in time and space. Objects become characters. They move away from their daily destination, assuming a completely new personality. This provides intriguing creations, where tranquility, motion and sometimes also humor meet. In the works of Marie Cecile Thijs the unusual is usual. She is specialized in staged photography, and created series like White Collar, Food Portraits, Amazones, Horses, Flowers, Birds & Vases, Majestic and Human Angels. She has also taken many portraits of writers, cooks, politicians, designers and artists.
Multiple series by Marie Cecile Thijs have been published in several media, most notably Het Financieele Dagblad and French newspaper Le Monde. Her work has been included in the collections of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Museum aan het Vrijthof Maastricht, LAM Museum Lisse, the Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego, the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond and many public and private art collections.
SmithDavidson Gallery is the official gallery for Marie Cecile Thijs with access to the full collection.
Influences reminiscent of the 17th century Old Masters are recurrent in the artist’s work, simultaneously however her personal interpretation is completely contemporary. Thijs plays with her subjects by bringing them to life unexpectedly, or – on the contrary – freezing them in time and space. Objects become characters. They move away from their daily destination, assuming a completely new personality. This provides intriguing creations, where tranquility, motion and sometimes also humor meet. In the works of Marie Cecile Thijs the unusual is usual. She is specialized in staged photography, and created series like White Collar, Food Portraits, Amazones, Horses, Flowers, Birds & Vases, Majestic and Human Angels. She has also taken many portraits of writers, cooks, politicians, designers and artists.
Multiple series by Marie Cecile Thijs have been published in several media, most notably Het Financieele Dagblad and French newspaper Le Monde. Her work has been included in the collections of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Museum aan het Vrijthof Maastricht, LAM Museum Lisse, the Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego, the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond and many public and private art collections.
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ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024
SmithDavidson Gallery congratulates Marie Cecile Thijs on being awarded Dutch Artist of the Year 2023.
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Awards
2023 - Artist of the Year 2024, KunstWeek Foundation, NL
Selected Exhibitions
2024 - Solo: ICONS, SmithDavidson Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
2023 - Maastunnel Portraits, Museum Rotterdam, NL
2023 - Reflections, SmithDavidson Gallery, NL
2023 - Permanent collection Stedelijk Museum Vianen, NL
2022 - The Photography Show, SmithDavidson Gallery, New York, USA
2022 - Parallels, SmithDavidson Gallery, NL
2021 - Marie Cecile Thijs, Museum Landgoed Fraeylemaborg, NL
2019 - Panorama Tulipland, Museum De Zwarte Tulp, Lisse, NL
2018 - The Unusual is Natural, Palazzo Saluzzo Paesana, Turin, IT
2018 - Between Heaven and Earth, Museum Jan Cunen Oss, NL
2017 - Cat Love, Nine lives in the Arts, Kunsthal Rotterdam, NL
2017 - Food! Food in the Arts, Museum Nairac Barneveld, NL
2016 - The Animal in Photography, MOPA, San Diego, USA
2013 - Portrait Salinero included in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, NL
Selected Collections
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, NL
Museum aan het Vrijthof Maastricht, NL
Lisser Art Museum (LAM) / Vandenbroek Foundation Lisse, NL
Museum Rotterdam, NL
Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego, USA
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Richmond, USA
The National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Public and private collections
2023 - Artist of the Year 2024, KunstWeek Foundation, NL
Selected Exhibitions
2024 - Solo: ICONS, SmithDavidson Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
2023 - Maastunnel Portraits, Museum Rotterdam, NL
2023 - Reflections, SmithDavidson Gallery, NL
2023 - Permanent collection Stedelijk Museum Vianen, NL
2022 - The Photography Show, SmithDavidson Gallery, New York, USA
2022 - Parallels, SmithDavidson Gallery, NL
2021 - Marie Cecile Thijs, Museum Landgoed Fraeylemaborg, NL
2019 - Panorama Tulipland, Museum De Zwarte Tulp, Lisse, NL
2018 - The Unusual is Natural, Palazzo Saluzzo Paesana, Turin, IT
2018 - Between Heaven and Earth, Museum Jan Cunen Oss, NL
2017 - Cat Love, Nine lives in the Arts, Kunsthal Rotterdam, NL
2017 - Food! Food in the Arts, Museum Nairac Barneveld, NL
2016 - The Animal in Photography, MOPA, San Diego, USA
2013 - Portrait Salinero included in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, NL
Selected Collections
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, NL
Museum aan het Vrijthof Maastricht, NL
Lisser Art Museum (LAM) / Vandenbroek Foundation Lisse, NL
Museum Rotterdam, NL
Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego, USA
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Richmond, USA
The National Museum of History and Art Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Public and private collections
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