Saskia E.M. van Dijk

My mixed techniques are inspired by my recent traveling experiences in Mali, West Africa. I have let the visual impressions affect me and add to that current themes from everyday life. Saskia E.M. van Dijk works on large sheets of white paper and at first glance she seems to draw them fairly full with pencil lines: straight and round lines or hatch. Upon closer consideration, those lines start from a vertical core and fan out loosely across the paper. Gray and black lines are interrupted or supplemented by white and gray surfaces of high-gloss or acrylic paint, with areas of light-colored gouache or watercolor, and sometimes with small collages. The drawing is fragile or powerful, thin or thick, fine or coarse, made with graphite, pastel and Indian ink. If lines can be said to move, they cross the paint surfaces or are covered by paint. Her handwriting consists of countless lines that emerge and disappear, with hesitations, corrections, additions and omissions. The artist works in a free manner, if something is not satisfactory, she scrapes rigorously with sandpaper and scissors if necessary and fades parts or makes them white again. All this on the surface of sturdy paper, which shines in some places and is dull or damaged in others. She uses materials and technology in a free manner. She wants to discover and see what will emerge. In part it is the material that determines the form and the richness of her story. Saskia van Dijk's dynamic working method is characterized by constant change. Her sheets of paper will be processed for months. When asked if and when the work is finished, she answers that the moment when the story is told finally arrives. Saskia van Dijk: "The precise imitation of objects and nature is not my intention. My drawings are very worked through, but there needs to be something left to the imagination. The atmosphere is important. " It is reminiscent of the work of a poet who omits words or sentences or of a musician with onsets and silences. (Karine Verloren van Themaat traveling companion and art historian)