Page 9 - The 70s - ABC of the material

As counterbalance against the agility, the speed

and the complexity of existence I have a great need

to make certain insights static, rounded and simple.

Maria van Elk, 1974

Lessons from the sixties

(emancipation of the material)

Since the beginning of the seventies the figuration of the material itself plays a central
role in my work. This stemmed from a need for images without connotation or double
bottom.
To leave things to their own worth in equilibrium with themselves. No hierarchy.
This lead to works that literally are close at hand
Properties of paper, folds, wrinkles in relation to miscibility of paint, pencil, chalk as
subject.
The interrelation between materials and forms.

Concrete, clear forms that speak for themselves and do not have to be explained.

It is what you see.

To liberate the work from temporary emotions, lift it over time.

A great freedom of the use of materials has arisen.

I make sculptures without being a sculptor, use paint without being a painter.

I like images that arise from investigation, material tests, colour swatches,
experiments.
A lot of different work originated in this area in which the geometrical form was used
as carrier of the properties of the material.

Maria van Elk, 1986

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