Edith Snoek

Edith Snoek (1958) works on several different series. She is especially known for her paintings of girls and young women. Vulnerability, beauty, and alienation form the starting point of her work. She often achieves this by painting multiple nearly identical “portraits” side by side. The models are not real individuals, but through the way they are painted, they become abstract and universal. They appear lost in thought, dreamy, and introspective. Since Edith moved to and started working in Zeeland in 2019, she has also been painting landscapes. During the coronavirus pandemic, she had ample time to take long walks, explore the landscape, and capture her impressions on canvas in her studio. This resulted in serene paintings, often wide and empty — sometimes with people, sometimes without. Vulnerability remains a recurring theme here as well. In addition to the conceptual side of her work, Edith is deeply interested in its technical aspects. She does not shy away from experimentation; paint is applied in thick, paste-like textures as well as in multiple layers or glazes. Cleaning, sanding, scraping, and breaking are all part of the process. Her color palette is almost always “tone on tone.” The Women Portraits series developed alongside the landscapes. The girls evolved into young women, their skin becoming a play of paint.

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