Mariska Karto

I was born in Suriname, South America, and carry a rich cultural heritage within me: Surinamese, Indonesian, African, and a touch of Dutch. I grew up in the Netherlands, surrounded by the legacy of the old Dutch masters — in a land where Vermeer and Rembrandt are never far from sight.
An assignment for a perfume brand once took me to Venice. There, I was deeply moved by the baroque art, architecture, and layered history of the city. That experience stirred something profound in me and became a lasting source of inspiration that still shapes my artistic vision today.
My creative process is carefully crafted and deeply multidisciplinary. I build my sets with great attention to detail, incorporating my other artistic passions: charcoal drawing, working with gold, textiles, and advanced photo manipulation. Every piece I create brings all these elements together into one cohesive expression.
I photograph human figures, men and women but mainly women — powerful, glamorous, mysterious figures who exist in dreamlike, emotive worlds. They often appear unaware of their surroundings, yet they radiate a quiet, irresistible dominance.
My work is sensual and poetic, blending fantasy with the emotional sensitivity of the old masters, while remain...

AWARDS
2016 – PX3 First place Prix De La Photographie De Paris/ Gold Award, in complete category Professionals Fine Art with my Contemporary Fresco’s. Px3 Special Exhibition in Paris on July 12-15
2016 – Nominated as Ambassador of Tolerance / Paleis van de Verdraagzaamheid – Netherlands
2016 – PX3 Silver Award Prix De La Photographie De Paris/ Black Pearl of the project Baroque Diversity
2016 – PX3 Prix De La Photographie De Paris/ Honorable Mention – The Happy Pil
2016 – International Photography Awards / Honorable Mention for the serie Baroque Diversity
2014 – Gold Award (Emotions) for work “Intense” in the Trierenberg Super Circuit
2013 – PX3 Prix De La Photographie De Paris
Fine art
Silver Award – Fresco The Fallen
Bronzen Award – Excession
2012- International Photography Awards

--EXPOSITIE KLEINE MATEN – PULCHRI GALERIE FEBRUARI 2025
-PULCHRI: VIDEO ART – SCREENTIME #9 / MY VIDEO ANIMATION EUROPE – AUGUST 3 / NOVEMBER 3 2024
-PULCHRI STUDIO/ APRIL 2024- SALON
-MICKS ART GALLERY EMMEN, THE NETHERLANDS – OKTOBER 2023/ JANUARI 2024
-Exhibition new members – Pulchri studio / juli 2023
-Voorjaarssalon en jacob hartogprijs: pulchri studio/ april 2023
-kleine formaat tentoonstelling – pulchri studio den haag / februari – mei 2023
-2022, toegelaten tot pulchri
-from september – december 2022, museum de fundatie, klimaatexpo 2022, zwolle (the netherlands – fresco climatechange europe)
-from 25 august – 25 september solo-exhibition 2021: galerie persoon and oogenlust, the netherlands
-from 30 november – january 2020 solo-exhibition: anita neve photo gallery, the netherlands
-from 25 may – 1 septembre 2019, museum de fundatie, zomerexpo 2019, zwolle (the netherlands – citylandscape europe)
-From 10 November 2018 – 10 January 2019, Anita Neve Galerie, Almere (the Netherlands)
-From 2 November 2018 my City-Landscape Den Haag/Delft at New Stadskantoor in Delft (the Netherlands)
-From 9-11 November 2018 in Paris, Imagenation Paris (France)
-From 19-25 September 2018, The largest festival of photography, in the Imperia...