Marcelle Hanselaar (b. 1945)Marcelle Hanselaar was born in Rotterdam,the Netherlands. Growing up in the formalatmosphere of a protestant, postwarcountry, proved, thanks to her drop-out/turn-on rebellion, a profound source ofinspiration for the recurring subject matterin Hanselaar’s work; namely the fierceand sometimes troubled cohabitation withthose raw desires, secret fantasies anduncultivated instincts and our functioningin a civil society. Although Hanselaarstudied briefly at the Royal Academy ofArts in The Hague, her lust for adventure,guided by a quest for self-discovery, ledher to years of travel, until, in the early1980’s she settled down in her studio inLondon where she still lives. Self-taught,she started out as an abstract painter beforeturning to figuration. At the same time shebecame fascinated by etching, its harsh,bitten line seemed to perfectly suit hersubject matter. As an artist Hanselaar looksfor ways to express those illusive questionsof who and what we are when the mask isoff, and how we appear when the mask ison. The shock effect of her work lies inthe contrast of combining her outspokensubject matter with the conventionalmedium of oil painting or etching. Both herpaintings and her prints display her delightand fascination with theatrical illusionsand although often peppered with a bitingsense of humour, the works reveals her ownvibrant understanding of human nature, inall its animosity and fragility.Hanselaar has exhibited her paintings andprints internationally, and can be found inprivate and public collections worldwideincluding British Museum Prints Collection,London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art,Print Collection, New York; V & A Prints& Drawings Collection, London; V & ANational Art Library, London; WhithworthArt Gallery and Museum; AshmoleanMuseum, Oxford; Fitzwilliam Museum,Cambridge; Clifford Chance Art Collection,London; The Viktor Wynd Museum ofCuriosities, London; Swarthmore College,Pennsylvania, US; University of Arizona,Tucson, US; Sakimi Art Museum, Okinawa,Japan; Guandong Fine Art Museum,Guandong, China; Iraq National Library,Baghdad; Meermanno Museum-House of theBook, The Hague; Soho House Amsterdam;AMC, Amsterdam; Amsterdam Arts Council;Kunstcollectie; Gemeente Haaksbergen, NL;University of Aberystwyth Print Collection,Wales; New Hall Art Collection, Universityof Cambridge; Clare Hall, Cambridge; TheNed, London; Rabo Bank, London; MerrillLynch, London; Risk Publications, London;Mitsukoshi Ltd., London and Paintings inHospitals, LondonThe Crying Game : Between A Rock & A Hard Placeetching and aquatint (edition of 30), plate size 20 x 25 cm / paper size 38 x 42 cm18
19