New Illusions #2 Painting

Bonnie Severien graduated with a BFA at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Netherlands. Severien was chosen as a finalist five times by the former Queen Beatrix and the reigning King Willem-Alexander for the prestigious Dutch Royal Award of Modern Painting. Her work has been exhibited at the Royal Palace Amsterdam and the Art Museum in The Hague and she did a number of commissions for Fashion House Claudia Sträter. She was honoured several times with Grants from the Dutch Mondriaan Fund. Artworks have been acquired by private collectors as well as museum and corporate collections all over the world. ‘In an increasingly urbanized world, the need to find a balance between architecture and nature is more urgent than ever. My artworks depict a new reality in which a dreamed symbiosis between modernist architecture and nature arises. Since my childhood I have always lived in newly built houses, an empty white cube around which nature still had to grow. My need for the clean order that mid-century buildings provide has laid the foundation for my paintings. I create a symbiosis between the utopian-inspired modernist architecture and paradisiacal and luxuriant nature. Architecture and nature together become a new oasis, they merge and are reflected in each other. The open architecture gives space to nature and plants and trees invite contemplation and inspire the viewer. The works evoke a mysterious, serene atmosphere; because of the physical absence of people, the works become quiet places that offer space to muse.'