Women in Art: Miriam Hommes

Miriam Hommes is a visual artist based in Amsterdam. In the late 1980s, she graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Painting/Graphic Arts. Since then, she has built up an extensive body of work, focusing primarily on research into materials, form, symbolism and composition. In addition to her artistic practice, she works as a teacher at the Wackers Academy and also at the Van Gogh Museum and in her own studio in Amsterdam East.

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The social importance of visibility for female artists, regardless of their age, is more relevant today than ever. Exhibitions such as Unravel (Stedelijk Museum), Mirga-Tas (Bonnefantenmuseum), Radicaal (museum Arnhem) and the work of Chantal Spit (Cloud) have demonstrated how topical this theme is.

Female artists and their influence

My work has always shown the influence of female artists. I have always linked an understanding of the technical aspects of their work to an interest in the historical and cultural context in which they worked. Female artists often faced structural (social) obstacles in a male-dominated art world and family relationships, and their work and influence were long underappreciated or even ignored.

Artists such as Tamara de Lempicka (grand and compelling life), Georgia O'Keeffe (exploration of boundaries and conquest of her position), Louisa Mattiasdottir (about beauty), Suzanne Valadon (female Fauvist), Helene Schjerfbeck (modernist expressionist), and contemporary voices such as Cecily Brown and Lubaina Himid are important sources of inspiration for me in this regard.

'Still Life with Vase' - 2016, oil on canvas, 100 × 120 cm.

Artistic Vision

In my work, I constantly seek contradictions, both in theme and in form, colour and material. My works are often inspired by seemingly everyday subjects, such as the life of a young woman, motherhood and abstractions of ordinary or even banal objects.
I consciously play with contrasts. For example, by combining large, simple forms with a dynamic and expressive use of oil paint. My colour palette is powerful and often unexpected, which contributes to the energy and emotion of the work. As a result, the apparent simplicity and recognisability of my subjects are challenged by a visual intensity that invites the viewer to look further and discover more, also through the choice of materials, such as charcoal, oil paint and movement. Large formats and a small everyday story; they tell something about the optimism, comfort and beauty of painting.

In my most recent work, with a preference for round shapes and softer materials such as pastel, I have zoomed in more on tranquillity and even greater simplicity and abstraction. My more recent oil paintings show a kind of nostalgia for the approach of the past, and an awareness and (re)appreciation of the inspiration of female artists that runs like a thread through my oeuvre and career.

‘Pink Room’ – 2018, oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm

Importance of materials

Oil paint has been at the heart of my work until now; a flexible and malleable material that can be moulded under my hands. I work on the canvas with a brush, palette knife, pieces of cloth and charcoal, building up layer upon layer. Wet-on-wet techniques are alternated with dry surfaces, resulting in a rich, layered paint skin in which every stroke and line tells a story.

My inspiration comes from a fascination with craftsmanship and imagery. Something I saw in a museum years ago, such as another artist's use of colour or the Impressionists' attention to small themes, can unexpectedly reappear in my work in an expressionist translation. Baselitz's large wooden sculptures, Barbara Hepworth's sculptures, naïve paintings at a flea market, or the folk art of Eastern Europe, such as hinterglas paintings, have all left their mark on my work.

This diversity of influences creates a continuous playing field in which classical modern masters such as Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Matisse, Von Jawlensky and Morandi play a prominent role.

The dynamics of the creative process – the explosion of colour, the movement, and the symbolic and monumental gesture – form an expression of an eventful life. This large, robust painting reflects both the personal experiences and the universal themes that I explore and mirror in my (often female) sources of inspiration.

‘Untitled’ – 2019, oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm

Providing and receiving inspiration

Since graduating from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, influenced by teachers such as Charlotte Mutsaers, Selma Trapman and Jan Sierhuis, I have developed my own style and language, largely inspired and influenced by female artists. This strength has also enabled me to be a source of inspiration in my various teaching positions.

And... you get a lot in return. After all, there is nothing as inspiring as teaching... And working with good materials, of course!

‘Still Life with Ball’ – 1991, oil on canvas, 170 x 190 cm