Gevouwen vorm 1986

Maria van Elk made this collage called 'Gevouwen vorm' or 'Folded Form' with paper, glue and pencil. I love the simplicity of this artwork. It's just a grey, house-like shape on a semi-transparent piece of paper. I can imagine Van Elk carefully cutting out the grey form and then delicately gluing it onto the surface. Was she thinking about architecture, or the shape of a memory? There's something so playful about the way she uses the materials, like a kid making art with whatever's around. The edges of the paper are rough and uneven, which gives the whole thing a really intimate, handmade feel. It reminds me of some of the collage work of Matisse, where he used cut paper to create these vibrant, abstract compositions. I think it's cool how artists can take the most basic materials and turn them into something really thought-provoking and beautiful. It's a reminder that art doesn't have to be complicated or flashy to be meaningful. It's more about how we look and how we bring ourselves to the materials at hand.