Discover Benelux | Top Galleries & Art Exhibitions 2016 | The Netherlands
Exclusive art that cheers you up TEXT: KOEN GUIKING | PHOTOS: MAUREEN KNOBBEN GALLERY
The figures on Maureen Knobben’s colourful paintings look at you with big, shiny eyes on their enormous, quirky heads. This art is made to cheer people up. Imagine walking into a gallery full of such pleasantly positive, vibrant pieces of art. That would make anyone happy. Fortunately, there is such a place: the Maureen Knobben Gallery in the Dutch city of Ootmarsum.
the characters in her new CoBrA-style paintings big eyes, using lots of silver pigment, “because the eyes reflect how someone truly feels”. The same pigment is used to connect the canvas figures with one another. “Only a few things in life are really important: loving each other, having a real connection with each another, and enjoying good times together. These are themes you will find in all my work.”
Knobben started painting joyful characters when she was rehabilitating from a very serious car accident. “I was so happy to still be alive; I just wanted to celebrate that,” she reminisces. Before the crash she had worked in advertising, but when it became apparent that she would not be able to get back to her old level she decided to take up her lifelong passion: painting. She started giving all
Knobben also makes beautiful objects in the same new CoBrA style. The gallery in Ootmarsum is now an astonishing showroom with beautiful paintings, lithographs, glass objects and sculptures. The artist even designs and produces her own design furniture. Most of the art found in the historic building on the Ootmarsum’s market square is made and designed by Maureen Knobben herself.
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Knobben’s colourful, positive work is now well known in the Netherlands and can be found in various exclusive restaurants and hotels throughout the country. Her work is even printed on wine labels. “My art stands for positive living,” she explains of her choice to design wine labels and to collaborate with some of the nation’s best hotels and restaurants. That is not to say that Knobben’s art is only attainable for the rich and famous. There are various objects for sale in different price ranges. But it is also possible to go very exclusive and have a Knobben painting custommade. For the best impression of Maureen Knobben’s art, one should definitely visit her gallery. Want to instantly get a boost of magical Maureen happiness? Visit www.maureenknobben.com