In Conversation with Nelleke Cloosterman

Images by Matthew Coles

This has been a moment of transition for you in many ways - you recently moved to London from Belgium and have also introduced some new figurative elements into your practice. Has the former affected the latter in any significant ways? 

Throughout the past few years, I’ve been adding new elements to my paintings, building the multi-layered universe you see now. I started with landscapes filled with symbols open to interpretation: birds without wings, gradients, bubbles, and plants from different seasons growing together. Later, I added a layer featuring still lifes inspired by female representation in art history and the vanitas tradition. These layers together reflect my upbringing, where I had a devout religious home life that contrasted with life outside. 

I have four sisters who shared this “two worlds” experience, and I always knew I wanted to bring them into my painterly universe when the time was right. This solo show—my London debut—felt like the perfect moment. I’ve had time to work on my technique and consider how I wanted to paint them. Their presence lets me create interactions across layers—for example, allowing them to hold hands even while existing in separate layers of the painting. This brings out the meaning in my work more clearly. 

For me, their presence is personal, but it’s not essential for viewers to know who they are. I want women to take up space in my art proudly and unapologetically, not only through symbols in the still life, but as central figures. Now that they’re part of my paintings, I feel I’ve built the foundation I need to continue exploring this painterly universe. 

In your work, you not only capture the literal passage of time through the layering of paint but also allude to the figurative passage of time by incorporating elements of your personal artistic journey, like the bubbles that burst onto the uppermost surface. How did this evolve? 

I’m interested in painting a universe where past, present and future exist simultaneously, distorting reality and blurring traditional boundaries. For example, you’ll find vegetation from different seasons growing together in the same field, inviting viewers to interpret the scene in multiple ways: it could represent a year-long moment or exist in a world where linear time itself is irrelevant. The bubbles, specifically, are inspired by the vanitas tradition and the motif of homo bulla, which reminds us of life’s transience. I like leaving these empty marks on the canvas, almost like a burst bubble offering a glimpse into another layer, though some might also see them as resembling bullet holes.  

During studio visits I was surprised to see how extensive each of the layers of your underpaintings are! It would be great to know more about your process and how that becomes a part of the narrative.   

The symbolic world where I play with time and distortion is always my starting point on the canvas. Growing up, I found it hard to connect with the strict rules of religion, so when I began searching for my own identity and beliefs, I found comfort in symbols that allowed for personal interpretation. These symbols don’t need to be explained—like the way a walk in the forest can simply make you feel better, you don’t have to explain it. Birds flying without wings, for example, could represent something cruel or something beautiful, and I found peace in that poetic ambiguity.  Sometimes I leave these initial layers untouched, while other times I add a screen-like barrier over them, separating the symbolic world from the more visible layer, which often features everyday still lifes. These scenes contain symbols drawn from art history, giving me the opportunity to respond to how women have been historically portrayed, while also highlighting the contrast between everyday life and the otherworldly layer underneath. 

Building these layers on top of one another began as a personal process, to document my own experience, but it now also reflects how I see the world: people with varied beliefs and convictions coexisting, sometimes in conflict over what to believe. Be it spiritual or political. For this show, I wanted to emphasise that complexity by having the women in each layer interact, even though they exist in different “realities” within the painting.  

I would love to know more about the importance of inviting multiple perspectives and viewpoints in your work.  

I found a small book that explained the hidden symbolism in Western art, and became interested in how religious art history intertwined with my story. While symbolism quickly became a playground for me to express my experiences, it also allowed me to respond to art history in a more universal way. Yet, a symbol like a cat or a rose can mean something entirely different depending on one’s memories or cultural background, allowing me—and others—to assemble meaning based on personal experiences. Hearing how others interpret a painting and how it resonates with them is incredibly meaningful; I get to learn from their perspectives, too. Stories people share—sometimes fun, sometimes sad—remind me of the connective power of art. It shows us that we’re not alone in our feelings or thoughts, even if we each arrive there by different paths.  

Are there other ideas that have evolved out of the Song of Invisible Boundaries that you are planning to explore next? 

My next step is to make a series of paintings with the birdcage symbology that I have begun exploring in Love’s sweet entrapment. That painting is important to me because of its symbolic resistance to ideas of women’s purity, virginity and chastity that exist within patrilineal societies and are connected to their self-worth – something that was also part of my upbringing. Additionally, my work explores the coexistence of different belief systems within the same painting. However, as I watch the news, it becomes increasingly clear that these belief systems struggle to coexist peacefully in the real world. While I can’t provide solutions—I can respond to these issues and hopefully create meaningful conversations around them.