How Figurative Artist Nina van Alphen Paints Poems of Life
Nina van Alphen is a talented artist originally from the Netherlands, now based in New York. In this interview, Nina opens up about her journey across different cultures, how these experiences have shaped her art, and her deep curiosity about the human mind and soul. She also talks about her creative process, the impact of working closely with art masters, and how her art tells stories of real-life moments. Nina opens up about how her life experiences and personal reflections influence her work, making it both deeply personal and universally relatable.
Nina was born in 1974 in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, and spent most of her adolescent years in Amsterdam. In 1994, she attended the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, an independent and internationally oriented university of applied sciences for Fine Arts and Design in Amsterdam. After her art education, she decided to ‘paint from life’. Nina travelled to various countries and settled in New York in 2001. From a very young age, Nina’s insatiable curiosity about the minds and souls of human beings motivated her to create art as a poem, a story. As a child, she often wished to be a foreigner, see society from another perspective, and break free from her social norms. Breaking free became the one reason to travel. She started following her compass instead of society’s expectations and became a foreigner as a first-generation immigrant in the United States. All the themes of her artworks are part of the stories she heard, lived or learned along the way. To this day she paints from life. “My works are narrative poems of life. They emerge from my insatiable curiosity into the mind and soul, whereafter they take off on their journey”. While living in New York, she fell into the secondary art and design market by chance, where she learned all about the inner workings of the Art and Design world. Her direct interaction with the Masters of the Arts in the secondary market greatly influenced her work.
1. Your journey as an artist has taken you across several countries and cultures. How have these diverse experiences influenced your creative process and the themes in your work?
When I traveled, I interacted and lived among people different from my own culture. It allowed me to observe in an intimate capacity. People tend to share their stories freely when you are an outsider. The societal rules do not apply the same to you. People tend to feel safe and share what moves or worries them. A lot of my themes are about their stories but also my own. Traveling teaches you about yourself and your heritage as well. It makes you see clearly. My themes are all about authentic life stories. By sharing these moments in time, I hope the viewer connects with the work and it will trigger a thought or feeling. It is crucial for our growth, innovation, and understanding of our role in this world.
I try to provoke feelings and move minds. It is part of our growth, innovation, and understanding of our role in this world.
Nina van Alphen
2. With your experience in both the art and design world, how has being part of the New York art scene influenced your work and career?
As a single mom without a support system in the United States and unable to return to my country of origin, I had to work. I found a position in the secondary art market and design industry. The secondary art market was an extraordinary place to work. I was able to view and touch art shown in museums daily. As part of my job, I researched it and obtained an art history course that went much deeper than what was taught at art academies. When you work with these masterpieces so closely, you begin to understand the artists’ journey. From their first drafts to finished works, I recognized what made them become who they became. It gives you a deeper understanding of your artistic journey and all that it takes to strive forward and create something with real purpose. The design world gave me my knowledge and understanding of materials and how they can be applied. It also taught me that there is no scale to art. It can be as big or small as you want it to be and it is all around us. I decided that I would never create without authenticity.
3. You say your art is like “narrative poems of life” and comes from your curiosity about the mind and soul. How does this curiosity show up in the way you paint?
My paintings are about the people I meet, society as a whole, and my journey in life. They tell stories of moments in time. Much like the Portuguese Fado, I like my work to provoke a reaction. I push to open dialog, instigate feelings, and ignite thought. Those are important if we want to move forward as human beings. I don’t use bold or shocking effects in my work. I do it with authenticity and an understanding of the subject. My artworks are stories expressed using figurative themes with a rhythm through shadows which convey meaning, movement, and emotion. They are poems of life.
4. Your artwork dives into society, culture, and personal experiences. Can you tell us about a piece where you explored a specific societal or cultural issue?
The #ofwhichiam is a collection of artworks I am currently working on. This collection explores the development and role of cultural heritage. With these artworks, I am studying the history of my roots and its influence on my way of life, passed down generations through practices, beliefs, traditions, and art, and how that shapes who I am today. ‘Je Maintiendrai’ is one of the works in this #ofwhichiam collection and was painted on fifteen 24 x 24-inch canvasses, a total of 72 x 120 inches (182.88 x 304.80 cm). ‘Je Maintiendrai’ (I will maintain) has been a phrase by the royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau since the period of William of Orange. In this artwork, I use the North Sea and the female swimmer as a metaphor for the emancipation and equality that generations of Dutch women fought for. With strength, they kept their head above water and created a society which embraced equal rights for women and girls. Working on these paintings, I realized that my fighting spirit in the hardships of life originated from this unconscious strength to ‘Maintain’ passed on by generations of women before me. Studying your culture will teach you so much about who you are. View it from an outsider and insider perspective. What made you who you are today? When you come to understand more about yourself and your culture, you’ll learn how to relate better to individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural awareness can help break down cultural barriers and build bridges. The modern Delfts Blue Tiles patterns overlaying the work represent ‘the veil of heritage’ behind which all life happens.
As a contemporary figurative painter, my work shows constraint and tension in a dance of sharp shadows and lines representing movement, vibration, and sound.
Nina van Alphen
5. You work with acrylics because they require quick and bold actions. How does this choice of medium affect the feelings your art evokes in viewers?
The first layer on a new canvas is a sketch. The second layer is when the first acrylics are applied. At this stage, I am engulfed in the work. Raw emotions and memories are painted quickly. This stage gives life to the artwork. The quick drying time of acrylics makes me capable of going over it when necessary. This keeps the process quick and the theme authentic. I don’t have time to overthink when I paint. After stage 2, I slowly finish the piece following the original direction. The acrylics force me toward authenticity and provokes honesty and feelings in the viewer. People can sense when someone is genuine. This connection builds trust, which is essential in every relationship, whether personal or professional.
6. In your current series, #ofwhichiam, you’re exploring cultural heritage. What inspired this series, and what do you hope people will take away from it about understanding different cultures?
War, cultural unrest, and division in society inspired the #ofwhichiam collection. Our cultural awareness can help break down barriers and build bridges. When you come to understand more about yourself and your own culture, you’ll learn how to relate better to people from different cultural backgrounds. With this collection, I call upon artists to join me and create cultural heritage works on social media tagging them with #ofwhichiam. As artists, we have the power to open minds and lead by example sharing who we are for cultural understanding, tolerance, respect, and hopefully peace.
Nina’s art shows how powerful storytelling can be when done with a paintbrush. Her experiences as a first-generation immigrant and her deep interest in people and their stories shine through in her work. By weaving together her journey with the stories of others, she creates art that speaks to everyone. To learn more about Nina, click the following links to visit her profile.
