he paintings of Annemiki Bok (Emmeloord, 1953) are characterised by a shimmering, iridescent use of colour. Layers of oil paint applied with a palette knife give her work depth. In her art, Bok combines the impressionism of Isaac Israëls, the large surfaces of Mark Rothko and the speed of Willem de Kooning. The artisanal perfection of her paintings, her directness and virtuoso speed of the paint strokes on her canvasses betray her academic credentials, which she earned at Amsterdam’s Rietveld Academy in the mid-Eighties and followed up with years of intensive study at the internationally renowned Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten.

“Painting is almost like breathing to me. It’s a necessity, a natural part of my life.”

In her art, Annemiki Bok displays a mastery of both colour and composition. She recognises the importance of self-criticism and dialogue in her work:

“Once I’ve set up my palette, the play of paint and colour on the canvas begins. Does it need to be lightened up a bit? I’m happy with what is happening in the upper right quadrant, but what needs to happen now in the lower left quadrant? Do I need thickness here, or should this layer be thinner, should I scrape some of this paint off? I allow my work to grow organically, so that it’s a dialogue with the paint rather than something I consciously determine.”