To write about the work of Maria van Elk soon results in a description of the method employed. That is because her work does not refer to reality. It is austere and graphical, made up of abstract geometrical forms. She shows it with the title 'Scale 1:1', which indicates that it is not more than what you see. Van Elk is occupied with the investigation of form and the actions of the creative process. In the book maria van elk, drawing 1973-1980 a number of her drawings are shown; simple and frail, sometimes consisting only of one small line. She varies endlessly putting down lines and investigates this way the various effects of hard and soft pencil and of hatching.
In 1981 she made a series of lithographic prints that were shown in Museum Fodor. A circle was printed lithographically on wrinkled paper. At unfolding, forms made up of dissimilar segments, different all the time, appeared. To the official regular circular shape, as is drawn by a compass, Van Elk gave a new, personal turn. She herself explained this work from an aim “to break through the logical symmetry”. This explanation could apply to other work of her.
On the exhibition there are shown among other things four oil paint drawings. Trapezoidal forms, monochrome coloured with oil pastel. Since it is constantly erased and applied anew, the paper did turn out with a grainy relief structure. This vivid roughness contrasts with the tight contours. Around the plane a pattern of folds appear, apparently without system. The logical symmetry broken, bend to Van Elk's will.
A large series of these fine drawings can be seen at “Steendrukkerij Amsterdam”. Rento Brattinga of this lithographical office, prints a lot of Van Elks graphical work. Also the wood prints in the Free University were made by him. Remarkable are three monumental works, each consisting of four wood prints. Geometrical compositions , of which the tightness is breached by the wavy pattern of the wood grain.
Pencil, a chalk, a piece of wood. With few resources and a limited arsenal of forms, Maria van Elk knows how to created very personal images.

Iris Dik, 1986, on the occasion of an exhibition in the “Exposorium” of the Free University Amsterdam and the “Steendrukkerij Amsterdam”
published in Ad Valvas nr. 13 page 11 (November 13th, 1986)