Frédérique Bruijnen is a Dutch visual artist who makes abstract art. While living with her young family in Buenos Aires for a period of 2 years, she began taking painting lessons from a wonderful teacher. After returning to the Netherlands, she joined The Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.

In 2018, she had her first exhibition and has been working as a full-time artist ever since. Creating, getting her hands dirty, exploring, developing, trying new things and being surprised by unexpected outcomes is what she really loves to do. Her work is related to the abstract expressionist movement which is about expressing emotions and allowing the unconscious part of the mind to express itself.

The work of Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Agnes Martin is a great inspiration for her. Making something with her hands gives her a great sense of freedom, energy, pleasure and peace. She works with different materials and explores how these differences can reinforce each other. The strength of her work lies in its harmony and apparent simplicity.

She loves subtle contrasts in light, texture and sheen. Using a limited color palette and different materials, she slowly builds up her work in layers. This creates a serene image and if you look closely, you can see that there is more beneath the surface.

Frédérique has participated in the Affordable Art Fair in Amsterdam and Brussels. She has recently entered into new collaborations with external parties to increase the visibility of her work. Thanks to its minimalist style, her work fits easily into interiors.

She has developed a series called “BonBonArt”: smaller works of art on wood panels, with encaustic, acrylic, resin and more. It’s wonderful to see how the different textures work together so beautifully. The name BonBon came about when someone referred to these refined small artworks as delicious chocolates.

She is also working on a series of larger paintings in subtle earth tones, with some touches of gold and bronze. She is hosting a private studio sale for her (potential) clients in the spring, so keep an eye on her socials or sign up for her newsletter.