Anne van As is inspired by Nordic countries, the mountains and wildlife from cold and temperate places. But her paintings and drawings are not just a record of visible reality. In a clear, figurative style she presents accessible subjects such as a bear or a rabbit, or even more abstract, a mountain. These are all topics that evoke a degree of endearment or recognition. On closer examination, however, a feeling of disorientation creeps up on you.
This feeling stems from the way Van As transforms her subjects on the canvas. The look and feel of her work is the result of a deliberate set of choices: from the way Van As chooses the cropping and simplified forms, the slightly cool colour choices and her way of painting, painstakingly applying very thin layer upon layer. The smallest details are decisive. In this way Van As reaches images that have a dreamlike, gentle quality, and that, despite their initially accessible subjects, remain difficult to interpret.
Work by Anne van As is shown on This Art Fair by galerie with tsjalling:
