Artist: Rieja van Aart

Hahnemühle Rag print, size 19×27 cm, edition of 10 (+ 1 A.P.).

MY DRIVE

From an early age I wanted to create, to make something out of nothing. That ‘something’ may be figurative, but I prefer it to be neutral, I want to approach that ‘something’ with my own feelings. In general, the objects I photograph are simple, without any particular value. I collect them anywhere , during a walk, in the garden or in the kitchen: a piece of cloth or a piece of paper, a branch or a stone, a snake skin or bird feather, a shell or a nut. I don’t need more. Things don’t have to be meaningful to speak to me.

I put my finds together in my studio, sometimes I add paint or ink and photograph them in a natural light. Essential to the process is a feeling or an atmosphere which don’t have to be pronounced. I don’t want to tell a story. That’s why I don’t like to give titles to my work. They risk pushing you in a direction that is too pronounced, that you don’t want. I make inner landscapes, still lifes, abstract images that everyone can interpret in their own way.

MY HISTORY

I wanted to become an artist or a journalist. I chose art, went to art school, but didn’t really like the school system. When I was asked to become a student journalist for the newspaper, I therefore said ‘yes’. I quickly became a ‘real’ journalist, ran from a city council meeting to an exhibition, from a fire to a fashion show… I learned a lot: writing, managing stress, knowing people, performing under pressure.

Not wanting to give up art, I took classes at the academy and took up photography on Sundays; the rest of the week was for work.

The daily newspapers became weeklies then monthly glossy magazines… From student I became a journalist, an editor-in-chief for weeklies and glossy magazines.

At the weekends I continued to take photos: still lifes that often became abstract images. Initially I took analog pictures and later digital ones. Once or twice a year I exhibited my photos.

Making newspapers and magazines means thinking about target groups, about what others want. At one point I wanted to listen to myself more. And therefore decided to stop making magazines, move to France and work in peace on what I feel, what I experience.

I exhibit my photos now about 5 times a year in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Every now and then I go to Paris, let myself be inspired.

Furthermore: I feel good here in the French countryside, I am happy with my photos. (Rieja van Aart)

Rieja van Aart, selfportrait 2021