Art - Maria Kuipers

Before I speak to Sussex-based abstract artist Maria Kuipers, I have a look round the exhibition of her latest work, which is on show in Pelham House until 6th March. The first thing that strikes me is the choice of palette - there is hardly any colour and the bleached out hues of cream, grey, beige and brown combine to create an ethereal, slightly whimsical tone to the display. Secondly, I notice the recurrence of enclosed spaces. ‘Rooms 2’ is a series of rectangles crammed together containing smaller rectangles within, ‘Temple’ features a solid black shape in the centre of the canvas. The exhibition blurb tells me that Kuipers’ work is influenced by the experience of living with the long-term chronic condition, ME. With this in mind, when I talk with Kuipers I ask her about her choice of imagery. “I am very interested in doors and thresholds, boundaries and containment and how they relate to the internal self. The way my disability has affected my relationship to the world and also the way that I think, she says.” Some of her pictures suggest a feeling of constriction or claustrophobia, I say. “Yes”, she replies, “but there is also a sense of self-protection - of creating a protective bubble from the outside world”.

Ambiguity in her symbolism is present elsewhere. In Pendulous, the central image seems to suggest a pendulum, but also a weapon - like an upturned hammer or axe. I ask Kuipers whether this is meant to be the case. “That’s exactly it, “ she says, “That picture is a lot to do with masculinity and femininity. The hammer is a traditionally masculine symbol of power and strength but I’ve stitched it with broderie anglaise - which is meant to refer to an attempt to marry the masculine and feminine symbols together.”