Abstract art is one of the most difficult art forms to master as an artist. For some, it is a closed chapter in art history and for others, it is an art form that can still be explored on a daily basis. Aimée Terburg has been exploring all sides of abstract art and the world around it for years and we spoke to her in her studio.
"First of all, I am an artist that makes abstract works and actually after that comes everything else I am involved in, like running Kunstprojecten Noorderstation as curator and manager. Abstract art is interesting because it has long been a melting pot of multiple identities and meanings, which is due to the fact that it is not a representative art form. This fact makes it possible for an artist to break away from associations and employ the medium in new ways. Context is important in this, which is why I often refer to my art practice as contextual; sometimes art defines the content and sometimes the content is determined by the environment. That could just as well be about my own context as a woman, as a Dutch-Surinamese and my art practice. People approach me differently every time, depending on the context I am in. The charge of a painting is equally determined by the way the paint sits on the canvas as the way the light falls on the canvas, or by the history of the location in which you present it. In abstract art, especially its minimalist branch, such details have an all-important role because the details are the carriers of meaning. With small actions, you can create or extract a completely new context. So as an artist who makes abstract work, it helps to have great technical knowledge; a good work of art stands or falls with how it is executed. I still benefit daily from the fact that in the 1990s at Academie Minerva, you were still learning all the traditional techniques. Sometimes I see myself as a construction worker in art because as an artist you are constantly working with skill and craftsmanship to make something that has to be able to carry all that context and meaning.
For a long time I have been concerned with the play between the flat surface and the suggestion of space in my drawings and paintings, so making the step to murals a logical one. For each mural, I make a site-specific basic design that I fine-tune on the spot. This is not only a technical matter, but also one of content. It makes a big difference whether you as a viewer are completely surrounded by a work or if you are looking at a small work on the wall. Moreover, function and light play a big role, determining how colours are perceived and change throughout the day. It also takes me observation time in addition to making time to give all these behaviours a place in the work. I like minimalist murals because it can really make you aware of a space. It's just about the experience. As humans, we constantly relate to the environment and my murals play with this. Murals are also one of the oldest expressions we have as humanity how we appropriate a space, think of the Lascaux cave paintings. Walls are solid things, but in context they are malleable and (re)definable. My autonomy and imagery come together with the quality of a space consisting of lighting conditions, volume, history and human interpretation. By lighting aspects of space, you can create a new coherence in a space. This is a sublime challenge every time but fantastic to do."
Text: Dinnis van Dijken
Photo's: Lisa Jasperina Bommerson