Bellator Painting

Nina was born in Amstelveen, the Netherlands in 1974 and spent most of her adolescent years in Amsterdam. In 1994, she attended the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, an independent and internationally oriented university of applied sciences for Fine Arts and Design in Amsterdam. After her art education, she decided to “paint from life” and explore the world. She traveled through Europe, Mexico and the United States, settling in New York in 2001. While continuously painting, She found her way into the primary, secondary art and design industry where she was exposed to the inner workings of the New York Art World. Her exposure to the Masters of Art in the secondary market greatly influenced her work. So did her insatiable curiosity into the mind and soul, her cultural experiences while traveling and her years of living in a country that was not native to her. “My works are narrative poems of life. They emerge from my insatiable curiosity into the mind and soul, whereafter they take off on their journey”. Artist Statement My creative process started early in life with an insatiable curiosity into the mind and soul. In combination with my personal life experiences, my artwork began to study and reflect integral parts of society, popular culture, and the complexity of the soul. It explores what makes people who they are, their stories, and their guarded hidden sides. Some parts of that narrative are personal to me. I try to provoke feelings and move minds. It is part of our growth, innovation, and understanding of our role in this world. Therefore, the observer is always an integral part of my artwork. They are my hero. I do not try to influence what they feel or think. That is part of their journey. As a contemporary figurative painter, my work shows constraint and tension in a dance of sharp shadows and lines representing movement, vibration, and sound. An extra dimension added through layers changes a 2-dimensional flat canvas into a 3-dimensional experience. I work with acrylics because I appreciate their unforgiven nature and the demands of quick action. It gets the raw innate concept out. I believe this is what brings upon the emotions of others when they view the work. Current Projects Nina is currently working on a series #ofwhichiam in which she explores the development and role of cultural heritage on an individual.