Judith Knol

Judith Knol was born in 2001 in Delfzijl, a town up in Groningen. From a young age she loved painting and drawing, and continued doing it until she was able to attend art school. In 2023 she graduated from Academie Minerva in Groningen. During her final year at Minerva she was part of ‘Eviction Notice,’ an exhibition organized by the students. After that she participated in the Graduation Show held in De Toekomst in Scheemda, where her work was nominated for the Minerva Award for Fine Art. Occasionally she works on commissions for paintings.

“In my work I explore everyday life, memories and photography through figurative painting. My graduation project aims to emphasize the mundane moments and routines in family life, with nostalgia and personal family photography serving as my main sources of inspiration. The opportunity to take digital photographs quickly and anywhere has become more and more accessible, and it’s changed the way we look at, and handle photography. We use photography to capture memories, communicate with others, and reinforce the way we look at and portray ourselves.

I am fascinated by personal photographs of both casual and special moments. My work aims to break the objective nature of photographs down by rebuilding them in the form of watercolour paintings. The transparency of watercolours lends itself well to translating memories onto paper. I enjoy how painting layer after layer until the image slowly appears is a big contrast to taking a photograph with only one click. Technique, layering and colour theory play a big role in the making of my work.”