artist/ Annette van Waaijen

Netherlands

Following her graduation from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Annette embarked on her journey as an independent artist at the age of 40. During her travels to places like Italy and Brazil, she captures photographs, often unposed, to serve as the foundation for her artwork. After printing these photos on canvas, she incorporates embroidery and textiles, sometimes to accentuate specific details, sometimes to add something that were not already there. The use of textiles and embroidery has long been a tradition among the women in her family, albeit in a different manner.

Annette van Waaijen has an eye to uncover the beauty of the ordinary and of the unappreciated. She captures it with her lens, prints the photograph on canvas, and embroiders the work to highlight its beauty. This approach not only adds physical structure and depth to the otherwise flat surface but also creates a layered effect that is both figurative and tangible. The embroidery serves to enhance, blend, and imbue new significance to the artwork. In fact, the embroidery work is executed with such finesse that it can be challenging to discern where thread has been used and where it has not, giving the impression of painting with a needle and a thread.

Annette’s work is frequently showcased in exhibitions and art fairs, including the Affordable Art Fair in Amsterdam and Brussels, as well as the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen. Notably, one of her pieces, titled “THE POOL,” was featured in the Summer Exhibition 2023 at the Royal Academy of Art last summer.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS (A Selection)
KunstRAI/Art Amsterdam (Amsterdam, international art fair), Cobra Museum for Modern Art (Amstelveen), Gallery Artacasa (Amsterdam), Affordable Art Fair AMSTERDAM, Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy Londen, Art Fair Brabant, Galeria Café (São Paulo, Brasil), Affordable Art Fair Brussels, Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam, Gallery Zocherlounge (Bloemendaal), Art Center Haarlem (Sustainability).

EDUCATION
Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Art Academy in Amsterdam, Fotofactory Amsterdam and the Graphic Lyceum of Amsterdam

PRICES:
Aemstelle Art price, Cobra Museum for Modern Art, Amstelveen, Winner at the Archives of Groningen, photography competition, Pricewinner at NPCI (Nikon Photo Contest International)

PUBLICATIONS
Magazine Naturelle (2 spreads), BK Info # 1 (Magazine for artists and art lovers), Magazine Ariadne (monthly edition), Friesch Dagblad (newspaper of north Netherlands), Publication of a number of photographs in Distel (magazine about Universities in The Netherlands), NPCI publication (book with an overview of the winning photographs)