Biography
Cécile van Hanja was born in Corsica (France).
She works and lives in Haarlem(The Netherlands).
Cécile works in the medium of painting and completed an MFA at the Rietveld Academie in 1993.
She was selected by the Napoule Art Foundation at the Château La Napoule in France in 2005 and received a 2 years grant from the BKVB foundation in Amsterdam.
She has had shows at different places in The Netherlands (De Vishal, Galerie BMB, Arti et Amicitiae, ABC center of architecture, Gallery Wegert& Sadocco), in France (Château La Napoule), in Switzerland(Art Zürich)and recently her work was selected by Saatchi Art for the exhibition "In glorious colour"showdown at the Griffin Gallery in London.
Her work is represented by Gallery BMB in Amsterdam and by Saatchi Art.
Artist Statement:
The inspiration for my paintings of industrial buildings comes partly from my cycle route to my studio, which leads through an industrial area as well.
But also modern housing, particularly buildings from the 30's, belonging to the architecture from the Modernism are a source of inspiration.
When I am working on a project ,I photograph architecture and then I transform those images into paintings, altering color, light and atmosphere.
I leave the spaces remarkably empty so that it seems all context has been erased.
The anonymity that is created through the identical architectural structures in large window sections , creates a certain alienation and abstraction.
I capture the aesthetic and the beauty of this buildings, the silence and peace they radiate and the play of light that appears on glass façades.
