Artist Statement

Incandescence: ink and essence

Artists are the conscience and consciousness of society. They go where others cannot, or dare not. They persuade and compel viewers to face difficult situations – have confounding conversations and carry imaginative metaphors with them – metaphors that frequently disturb and distress. These images however, also delight and deliver space for reflection. Disturb and delight – a chiaroscuro of light and dark playing in works of vivid expression is Van Amerom’s forte. She embraces the medium of ink and juxtaposes its qualities of spontaneity and control in compelling images of faces, figures and fantasy. Despite the unpredictable nature of the medium, or perhaps because of that, her work remains anchored in the gravity of process. Van Amerom captures the fragility and resilience of the human condition in her work with finesse and depth – urging the viewer to turn eyes inward and look for that personal space of reflection where awe, wonder and integrity lives.

Artist Background

Maritha van Amerom is born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Having her Master's degree in Psychology she practiced as Psychologist for many years. After enrolling as art student for three years, she made a dramatic career change and started working as full-time artist in 2009.

Apart from input from numerous well-known artists throughout her career, her grandmother’s passion for art can still be singled out as one of the biggest influences in her art career. Maritha van Amerom has participated in numerous exhibitions and her work forms part of collections world wide, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland. Maritha has been a finalist in the Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards (2014) and SPI Portrait Awards (top 150, 2015). She has also been selected as one of the Gold list Top 60 emerging international artists of today (March 2017, Art Market). Over the past 3 years Maritha has also been involved in running of the Somerset West Life Drawing Group - a group of figure drawing artists that get together bi-monthly to share their passion for drawing in a beautiful creative environment.