I want to be a blue butterfly

The fantasy of the Zealand artist Marja de Lange-Nieuwenhuyse (1938-2016) knows no boundaries. From her earliest youth on she has searched for ways to express herself. She studied at the Art Academy of St. Niklaas, Belgium and at the Free Academy in Rotterdam. For years she painted ‘everyday life’ in a realistic style, with which she had great success. But in 1989 her passionate inner life required that she broke the barriers of realism. With a new palette she tried to keep pace with life as it manifests itself. For her, painting and drawing were as essential as breathing, and the involvement with the world around and in her was translated into hundreds of works. The Dutch book ‘Voor wie vleugels heeft, staat de hoogte open…’ (‘For who has wings, the height is open…’) offers an overview of her work in all its aspects. It’s an ode to imagination and to the freedom of the soul.

‘Art translates my life and survives my life. My shapes come into being by angry, emotional or tender gestures…’ (Diary)