Figurative painting · Large scale
Both figurative and abstract art interest me, but I work figuratively because it lets you place yourself into new worlds. I do not mean copying reality. Illusion is my passion. I like to paint in a suggestive kind of way.
I paint landscapes that form an allegory to the origin — birth, life and death — and I want to bring the value of intimacy to people’s attention. The paintings are often large. Such a big white canvas feels to me like a standing tidal wave. The picture then grows slowly: blurred spots first, then forms that get sharper and sharper, and in the final stage I work out the tiny details. Then I feel like a watchmaker working on a large scale.
The figures use only natural poses. That is why you will never find a ballerina in one of my paintings. I avoid romantic poses — through soberness I believe I make work that is catching and credible.
The Origin
Early on I painted seven Dutch authors I admired, and those portraits were bought by the Dutch Museum of Literature in The Hague. Portrait commissions followed, and exhibitions were booked two years in advance — until the time pressure pushed me into repetition. I cancelled them all, despite the financial consequences, and gave my work to a new series of large paintings: The Origin.
- The Origin — Museum of Figurative Art “de Buitenplaats”, Eelde, 2002
- Museum “The Markiezenhof”, Bergen op Zoom, 2003. Both shows alongside sculptures by Gerhard Lentink
- Dutch Biennale of Figurative Art, Arnhem 2004 — voted for by the public
- Portraits held by the Dutch Museum of Literature, The Hague
Showing now
Lia is showing in Belonging, with Liz Levey, until 27 August 2026 — and again in In Her Image, opening Friday 28 August, 5–8pm.
Lia’s work
Lia’s work hangs in the gallery on South Anne Street. Email us to ask what is currently in.
