Melle de Boer

My practice spans painting, printmaking, drawing, writing, and music. Within my painting, I aim for abstract forms, leave smudged traces, and do not allow myself to repeat successful compositions. Such parameters enable me to circumvent the constant urge I have to seek approval in the viewer. Often, I have sought this ‘approval’ in the use of narrative and figurative elements, a tendency that lessens as I move towards increasingly autonomous paintings. By creating an atmosphere of the unexpected, every work challenges my desire for life to be controlled.