ARTIST'S APPROACH
In my artwork I favor purity and stylization, seeking to bring my subject back to the essential. My way of drawing is inspired by Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, whose fluid gestures can also be found in my painting techniques . My works, often presented in the form of a series, develops a vision that is narrative as well as symbolic and imaginary, proposing several layers of lecture, navigating freely between abstraction and figuration.
I seek to develop a poetic language and feed my universe not only with my own experiences and dreams but also by exploring themes of nature, mythology, literature, and human relationships (or conditions).
MANUELA LUCHTMEIJER – painter / artist
I was born on a sunny Sunday morning in the spring of the early 70s in a small provincial town known for its windmills, in the Netherlands. My mother always likes to tell how, still a baby, I watched very closely the rays of the sun dancing in my room and the colorful toys I held up and turned silently in my tiny hands. When I grew up, I had my nose in a book if I wasn't drawing or tinkering, and I painted my first canvases as a teenager, having created a small studio corner in my young girl's room. Everything was a source of reflection or dream support during my childhood. I haven’t changed; I'm one of those who never get bored.
At the age of 19, with my high school diploma in my pocket, I followed my wildest ambitions and left my native country to settle in Paris. A few hard and exhilarating years followed; I had to fend for myself financially while taking Japanese classes at INALCO and evening classes at the Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was impossible for me to choose, languages have always fascinated me as much as art. I speak several and continue to study them today.
À cette même époque, j’ai travaillé 5 années au musée du Louvre comme agent d’accueil pour financer mes études. J’ai passé de nombreuses pauses à dessiner les sculptures ou faire des copies des tableaux. Aujourd’hui encore, je peux visualiser des salles entières et nommer les œuvres présentes. Ces années-là m’ont appris à observer et à dessiner autrement, sous le regard de ces grands maîtres qui m’ont toujours encouragée à faire mieux, à réessayer encore, tout en me faisant sentir si petite. Cela non plus n’a pas changé….
After graduating, I was caught up in a fast-paced professional life in the translation world. Being multilingual and rather versatile, I was quickly taken up into management positions and had the incredible luck to travel all over the world. The landscapes I saw and the people I met still inspire me today.
But, while I liked the challenges of international professional life, I increasingly lacked the time to draw and paint. In 2005, I decided to follow my heart and quit to be free to create. I had to find out if this crazy dream of becoming a full-time artist was just this, a crazy dream, or ... the life I needed to fully accomplish myself, as I had always been convinced deep inside.
En 2006, j’ai présenté ma première exposition personnelle dans une galerie à Paris et je n’ai jamais regardé en arrière. J’expose régulièrement depuis, et mes œuvres se trouvent aujourd’hui chez des collectionneurs dans plusieurs pays. Mon atelier se trouve à Montmartre (Paris) ou j’excerce aussi mon deuxième métier de graphiste, mais rien ne vaut la complicité que je peux trouver avec mes toiles, seule dans mon monde imaginaire.
For me creating is exploring and searching, I constantly question myself, but never about the fact that my place in this world is to make it, in all modesty, more beautiful. To think and to make others think, and to try, line after line, stroke after stroke, to bring my dreams to life in order to share them with you.