Meike van Riel

Meike van Riel (born in 1978, Utrecht) is a contemporary Dutch artist who has been working from her studio in Utrecht since 2005. Although she completed her artistic training at Artibus in Utrecht and was later admitted to the academy of fine arts, she deliberately chose an autonomous and independent path of development to preserve the uniqueness of her abstract painting style.

Van Riel began her journey of discovery entirely self-taught, using acrylic paint on paper, but over the years she expanded her technical palette to include oil on linen, mixed media, ink drawings, and black wax sculptures.

In addition to her autonomous visual art, she is active as a poet (with the published poetry collection Het zoete brood). She also shared her knowledge as the co-founder of the 'Nieuwe School' (New School) for adults.

Her work is permanently represented and can be found in various private international collections; this includes three artworks purchased by collectors in New York.

Artist Statement

Driven by a powerful inner necessity, I engage in a dialogue with the empty canvas almost daily. While the subject matter of my earlier work focused intensely on understanding the essence of 'beng human', in recent years I have become fascinated by the power of pure simplicity. My recent abstract paintings, often on large-format canvases, are a direct response to the complexity of our contemporary society.

In this series, I strive to create visual peace and stillness. Through the meticulous building up of countless layered color shades within the same color range, a minimalist composition emerges that appears simple at first glance. Only upon a longer, more conscious gaze do the deeper nuances and textures reveal themselves. Every few years, my fascination changes, and I bring further depth to my work through, for example, the use of different materials and artistic research.

I invite the viewer to slow down, to take the time to 'read' the artwork, to fathom the compositions, and to experience their own emotions.