Born in 1964 in Heerlen, Netherlands, Marie Cécile Thijs went to the VWO Bernardinus College in her hometown and subsequently she studied at the Fashion Department of Art Academy St Joost in Breda for one year. Afterwards she made her Master of Law at the Law school of the University of Leiden.
The work of the artist is influenced by painting of the Dutch Golden Age, in particular by the portrait tradition and the still-lifes of this time. This is evident in many of her images by a nearly monochrome background, but also by the choice of several objects, which she borrows from the ancient paintings, or the inclusion of historical artefacts separately photographed in museums. Consequently, her photographs are highly arranged.
By specialising in stage photography, she primarily works in series. These series could have a recurring element like the 17th-century antique ruff from the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam in “White Collar”. Here, Marie Cécile portrayed children and cats and later added the separately photographed ruff digitally. Also, for her series “Collection Rijksmuseum” the artist utilised antique objects. However, here they become main protagonists who are reborn to a new unexpected life.
In her series “Food Portraits” the artist portraits tableware and aliments like cheese, fish, olives which also can be found in the “Monochrome Banketjes” (Monochrome Banquets) by painters who worked especially in the region of Haarlem in the second quarter of the 17th century. Moreover, in several photos, there are other, more contemporary elements like ice-cream and a food processor. Most of the pictures have in common that the portrayed food is not presented in its known context, but as “actor” who describes its properties, for example black olives appear arranged in a grid of olive oil or matzos show up in a cloud of flour. In our Artwork of the Month / September 2024, “Citrus & Glass” Marie Cécile features a rummer with a half-peeled lemon levitating above, splashing its juice in and around the drinking glass. Here, she took two recurring elements of Monochrome Banketjes to present them in a new context.
Suitable to the “Food Portraits” is the series “Cooks”, where the artist portraits renown cooks in a playful manner with elements of their profession. Other portraits show “Amazones”, female protagonists mostly with striking collars or/and hairstyles or children with feather wings as “Human Angels”.
For “Flowers, Birds & Vases” she combines the title giving elements to a surrealistic world of flora and fauna. In “Green Scenes” the vivant elements become even more illusionary. Started during the pandemic, the artist imagined a nature where the human hand seems to have disappeared: a lizard sits peaceful on a poppy, a chameleon rests on a magnolia branch and a rose has the flower of a dandelion.
Besides numerous solo shows and participations in group exhibitions in the Netherlands, but also in other European countries, the United States and China, Marie Cécile’s photos have been presented in newspapers and she published several books. Additionally, she was commissioned to create portraits of enterprises and public institutions and illustrated book covers. With her representing international galleries, her works travelled to many art fairs, inter alia the Photo London, the MIA Artfair Milan, the Art Miami, the Zona Maco (Mexico) and the TEFAF Maastricht and entered in several public and private collections. In 2024, she is Artist of the Year of the Foundation Kunstweek. Her next solo exhibition “Food and other Portraits” will be in the Galerie XII in Paris from
12th September until 26th October 2024. Furthermore, her works will be on view from 19th to 22nd September 2024 at the Photo Fair Unseen Amsterdam at the booth of the SmithDavidson Gallery.
Marie Cécile lives and works in Rotterdam.
https://www.mariececilethijs.com