ANNELIES TOUSSAINT - IMMERSION IN STILLNESS AND PURITY

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." 

– Leonardo da Vinci

There is a sense of serenity, understated beauty, and profound spirituality in the work of Dutch textile artist and painter Annelies Toussaint. Her harmonious, meditative, and silent embroideries on hemp canvas convey a delicate energy, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in her intimate dimension. Proudly exhibited at KALPA, a selection of monochrome paintings features a minimalist aesthetic, inspired by the Japanese sashiko technique of knotting.

With a language of abstraction marked by subtle geometric echoes, her artworks are highly textured compositions and physically engage the viewer, inviting them to be enveloped within her woven landscapes. Their titles, from Crimson Reverie to Rhythm of Silence, are evocative and poetic, suggesting the narrative of a personal journey into each piece, and conveying a sense of rebirth and renewal.

Weaving ranks as one of the oldest forms of communication, used across the globe for thousands of years. Its threads trace the human story and reveal its truths. Today, this age-old tradition is as contemporary as ever, deeply significant, and able still to convey powerful messages. Annelies embraces this medium as a means of creation, founding her creative process on the repetition of graphic elements and gestures that eventually lead to the construction of unique ordered spaces inside the frame.

Viewing her art practice as a meditative and performative act, Annelies begins by collecting and restoring rare, precious fabrics - specifically 19th-century linen and hemp - often worn and bearing the marks of time. She dedicates herself to sashiko, a form of embroidery that has been in use since the 17th century to reinforce and embellish fabric. Each stitch becomes a disciplined moment of reflection, establishing a subtle connection to age-old traditions. This ritual can span several days, requiring anywhere from 70 to 300 hours, a testament to a layered, organic, and intuitive vision.

"Embroidery is like a meditation: repetitive, quiet, carried by focus and presence. When I complete it, I stretch the work and begin to fill it with pigments.
Only then does it receive its colour, its depth, its soul."

Annelies gradually applies layers of natural pigments and paints to the fabric. Sourced from found materials like stones and earth, these pigments impart a soft, rich colour palette that gives her work depth. Through repetition of gestures and signs, her works tell the story of their origin: from the gathering and restoration of the fabric to the intricate stitching and the final act of painting.

"Creating from my intuition, fueled by wonder in nature and inspiring environments, infuses everything I do with vitality. The form may vary, but it is always connected to where I stand at that moment."

"In the stillness of the forest, I find the freedom to create, the clarity to understand, and the serenity to simply be."

Annelies' self-taught practice is a bond of intuition and high craftsmanship, rooted in self-awareness and emotional endurance. Founded in her ‘Hymn of Silence’, she explores multiple disciplines, including painting, embroidery, and the art of tea making. Her work is the result of years of creative investigation, inspired by nature, personal life experiences, and ancient crafts and rituals. Living in 's-Gravenwezel, Belgium, she began designing her home in 2019, expressing her aesthetic principles and values by combining old and new materials with a wabi-sabi sensibility.

C R E D I T S :

Photography of the Artist's house and studio: photographers Tijs Vervecken, Maike Grimm, Patrick Celis, Courtesy of The Artist

Quotes: Annelies Toussaint

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