Ellen Kooi
Ellen Kooi’s large-scale, theatrical photographs are inspired by traditional Dutch landscape painting. The artist’s dream-like narratives are laden with art historical and literary references and possess a heightened sense of emotional tension expressed through the relationship between the character and his or her surroundings. These panoramas blur the distinction between fantasy and memory, creating a world that is at once surreal and familiar. Carefully orchestrated using detailed prep sketches and thoughtful set design, the photographs are shot during daylight with large format cameras, intricate lighting, and minimal post-production editing.
Langerak – Blauwe Boom (2014) portrays a young female in a tree. Created using a palette of muted greens and neutral hues with saturated bursts of color, the image evokes childhood fairytales with cinematic audacity. The work possesses a perfect stillness that leaves the viewer with a feeling of foreboding. While the subjects of Kooi’s panoramas may appear to be at the mercy of their surroundings, a closer look at the work reveals that the landscape, too, is responding to its inhabitants. These displays of nature can often be interpreted as a reflection of the subject’s inner turmoil.
Kooi has had solo exhibitions at institutions such as Centro de Arte de …
Ellen Kooi’s large-scale, theatrical photographs are inspired by traditional Dutch landscape painting. The artist’s dream-like narratives are laden with art historical and literary references and possess a heightened sense of emotional tension expressed through the relationship between the character and his or her surroundings. These panoramas blur the distinction between fantasy and memory, creating a world that is at once surreal and familiar. Carefully orchestrated using detailed prep sketches and thoughtful set design, the photographs are shot during daylight with large format cameras, intricate lighting, and minimal post-production editing.
Langerak – Blauwe Boom (2014) portrays a young female in a tree. Created using a palette of muted greens and neutral hues with saturated bursts of color, the image evokes childhood fairytales with cinematic audacity. The work possesses a perfect stillness that leaves the viewer with a feeling of foreboding. While the subjects of Kooi’s panoramas may appear to be at the mercy of their surroundings, a closer look at the work reveals that the landscape, too, is responding to its inhabitants. These displays of nature can often be interpreted as a reflection of the subject’s inner turmoil.
Kooi has had solo exhibitions at institutions such as Centro de Arte de Alcobendas in Madrid, Institut Néelandais in Paris, and Musée de La Roche-sur-Yon. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Stedelijk Museum in Den Bosch, Art Omi International Arts Center in Ghent, centre d’art contemporain in Meymac, ASU Art Museum in Tempe, among other venues.
Courtesy of P.P.O.W.
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands
C.B.K. Groningen (centre of contemporary art), the Netherlands
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
Zaans Museum, Zaanstad, the Netherlands
Musac, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla Y Leon, Spain
21 C Museum, Louisville-Kentucky, USA
P.P.O.W., New York, NY