Acts of sketching and collaging offer Florentijn de Boer a moment of quiet in the lemon storm, providing space for processing, reflection, but also emotions and daydreaming. We see a face on the moon, a car in the clouds, a dark omen in a swarm of bees; shapes show us what we want to see in them. They mirror a world of emotions that is in constant movement, existing behind the humdrum of daily life.
In this way, Florentijn’s heavy cotton canvases and their brightly pigmented oil pastel compositions likewise function as mirrors, they show portraits and stories in shapes inspired by a fantastical world of flora and fauna. Combined with her use of color, the artist captures metaphors and symbolism in her canvases, while still maintaining the viewer’s freedom to freely associate.