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Marja KoenraadDutch artist Marja Koenraad creates rhythmic, abstract works on paper inspired by her fascination with 'abstract ornamentation, folkloric and decorative designs', and by modernist textile design.
Koenraad says that she is also inspired by 'architectural and calligraphic ornaments and decorations from different cultures, such as Indian block prints and mandalas'. A further textile influence on Koenraad's drawings comes from the multicultural pattern design and craft heritage of Dutch textile company Vlisco. For almost two centuries, Vlisco has produced fabrics designed in the Netherlands, inspired by Africa, using a wax-printing technique derived from Indonesian batik. Another addition to Koenraad's visual cornucopia of inspiration are the designs of the Wiener Werkstätte, which in turn were drawn from movements such as the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. The subsequent Art Deco design era is also echoed in her works.
Koenraad's works are usually produced on small-scale handmade rice paper which brings an inherent texture and sense of materiality, reminiscent of textiles, to her drawings before the application of the intricate ink lines and areas of colour that she uses to construct her inventive geometric patterns. Her synthesis of influences produces distinctive contemporary abstract works that evoke their modernist antecedents.
Text: Jane England, January 2021
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