Marja van Kampen was born in The Netherlands and received her degree for Painting, Printmaking and The History of Art from the Akademie voor Beeldende Kunsten there. She has exhibited widely and her work is held in collections including those of The Office of Public Works, The Department of An Taoiseach and The Arts Council.
“Focus on the adventure and fun of being an artist and do not get frustrated if success is not coming your direction straight away”.
Marja had wanted to be an artist all her life and was encouraged in her wishes by her family. A few years after completing her studies, Marja made the decision to work full-time as an artist and went to the South of France, where she spent each summer and autumn painting for a few years before settling in Ireland.
For the works in Dundalk Town Council’s collection, she focussed on the formal elements of shape and colour and introduced elements of landscape. Her current practice concentrates on larger canvases painted with acrylic and she is also working with the printmaking techniques of collograph and carborundum to create mono prints. Recently, she has been introducing the human figure, especially the female form set in exotic surroundings as a result of many trips to India.
She is a co-founder of Artspace Studios, Galway, and was a driving force in its development, before setting up her own studio. Her work has appeared in numerous group exhibitions in Ireland, Europe and China. Solo shows include the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, a National Touring Exhibition, Centre D’Art Azilien, France, Worpswede, Germany. She has represented Ireland in the Aalborg Triennale in Denmark. As well as her work held in public collections, some of her very large paintings are in the Radisson SAS Hotel Collection and the University College Hospital Galway Collection. She is the recipient of Arts Council Awards, a DAAD Scholarship for a residency in Worpswede, Germany and, a Travel Award from the Department of Foreign Affairs. She has also received an Arts Council Travel Award to visit Museums and Galleries in New York.
Find out more about this artist here: marjavankampen-artist.blogspot.ie
