About
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Born in Amsterdam, Anna Korteweg studied at the University of Arts in Amsterdam and obtained her Master degree in Fine Arts at the Dutch Art Institute in Enschede, in 2008.
She has worked and exhibited in Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, New York and the Middle East.
Artist Statement
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The portraits I paint are about a stillness and sensitivity that I experience, and that I see reflected in other people. My work is about a quiet connection, a recognition of a shared being that is seldom expressed in words.
My affinity with a more quiet, sensitive connection became essential when my senses were compromised due to an allergic reaction to medication. Since then, I have been retraining my senses to be able to process stimuli adequately.
As a result, the way I communicate with others has changed over time. I've become more receptive to the unspoken emotions and quiet expressions that I believe often lie beneath our words and gestures. Gradually, this quiet language has become essential for me in the way I relate to people. I have come to understand there is a way of communicating that reveals a more profound connection which is shared by all human beings; an underlying presence that unites, rather than differentiates us.
In my work, the nature of this shared connection is further examined. The relatively slow process of painting a portrait -- the building of layers in watercolor takes time -- allows me to explore and reconsider the coming together of two people. It allows me to investigate the more subtle exchange between myself and the other, between artist and subject. While on one hand the painting focuses on the unique features and character of a person, simultaneaously, the part which involves a contemplation on oneness, on a more fundamental similarity between people, becomes equally important.