Marianne Schuit

When Marianne Schuit was 10 years old, her parents moved to a larger home, and she got her own room for the first time. Around that same time, an uncle gave her a box of tubes of oil paint. She now had everything she needed—a space and paint—and she began painting.

After high school, she took evening classes at the Rietveld Academy. At that time, she was still working primarily in a figurative style. Gradually, her work shifted from figurative to abstract art, because she felt it allowed her to say more about what it means to be human. What it means to be human and to live life as a human being—that is what Marianne’s paintings are about. They explore wonder, energy, ecstasy, beauty, and enthusiasm. But there are also always dark colors incorporated into her paintings. After all, life is what it is, even in the face of its inevitable end.

Marianne believes it’s important for each individual to let their own personal feelings speak through the paintings, and therefore doesn’t want to distract too much by imposing her own vision of the whole.

Marianne: When viewing the paintings, it’s important to open yourself up, let them in, and let your own feelings do what they will with them. After all, a painting comes to life through the viewer’s feelings.