Liesbeth Rahder

Liesbeth Rahder (Volendam, 1955) studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam from 1980 to 1985. She paints intuitively, beginning with large, structured swaths of color across the entire canvas before moving into detail. She can take this very far, incorporating minute inscriptions that are often scratched into the wet paint with a palette knife or the back of a brush. The images resemble her handwriting, and it is the contrasts and similarities between the figures that draw the viewer into the work, compelling you to create your own narrative. No matter how narrative and recognizable her depictions may be, it seems as though Liesbeth Rahder always follows the impulse to use a brush or palette knife to bring out the unique qualities of the material she works with. She works primarily with oil paint on canvas, but in the sculptures she has recently created, you can see her sensitivity and sublime sense of materials: combinations of natural stone, bronze, and wrought iron.