Astrid van Rijn – The Netherlands
Drawings, photography and collage.
Astrid van Rijn finished her Autonomic Artstudies at Willem de Kooning Academie (Rotterdam) in 1993.
Van Rijn draws, paints, photographs and makes assembled art pieces. The past few years, she has been mainly focused on drawing and photography. Two artforms that seem to be separate. Her wish was to bring these artforms together into one whole. The result was a long and interesting search that eventually led to the creation of the art series “Carbon”. Astrid takes photographs that serve as building blocks for the creation of a new biotope, digitally built by combining countless photographs unto one image. As soon as an interesting image emerges, van Rijn starts the next phase: drawing over it with charcoal, Conté, Siberian and pastel crayons.
“In the “Carbon” series, the love Astrid has for photography and drawing merges into one. Many layers of plant material that will eventually wither into carbon, with which a new world is created with charcoal dust as a binding factor. The carbon-cycle of life.”
“The “Carbon” series is beautiful from a distance. The abstract feel from velvet-like skin in grey- and black tones. They have something magical. They are gloomy, but also create curiosity to approach. Once there, gotten used to the darkness, you will be overwhelmed by the many shapes and the density of rhythms and patterns. The overpowering swirling chaos and energy of life. You can lose yourself in nature. You can lose yourself in these works.”*
*citaat van bioloog en kunstenaar Lauran van Oers