Elizabeth Kleinveld
is a self-taught artist and photographer from New Orleans, who spent a year documenting the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2007 Kleinveld shifted her focus to flowers, finding inspiration from the vibrant colors of exotic flowers and their reflection in water, which gives her work an abstract and painterly quality. Her work (photography and mixed media) has been exhibited in the United States Senate, New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), Taylor Bercier in New Orleans, the Colorado Fine Arts Center, Galerie de Prinsenkelder in Amsterdam and the Expansionist Art Empire in Leiden.
Her Katrina series has been catalogued in NOMA’s Katrina Exposed book (2006), in the Road to Peace show in The Hague’s City Hall (2007) and in ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So,’ an exhibition with Dutch poet Rogi Wieg (2008). Kleinveld’s work has been covered by the Washington Post, Volkskrant, Trouw and Tableau and is held in museums and private collections in the United States and Europe. Kleinveld enjoys working with galleries, museum curators, interior designers and hotels and on special projects to help rebuild New Orleans.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“Art is life seen through man’s craving for perfection and beauty” –Paul Outerbridge
Art for me is about creative self-expression and storytelling. Whether I weave my tale with words, on canvas, mixed media or through the lens, I am always telling a story.
An observer of the world around me, art allows me to respond to what I’m taking in.
While some of my work is indeed my striving to express the beauty in front of me, other work may express just the opposite. My latest series of Flower Portraits is indeed an aim to focus on the inherent beauty of the flower itself as a reminder of the importance of enjoying the small things in life. As I walk down the streets of Amsterdam, I see a symphony of flowers on almost every block. Often, I find myself being intoxicated by their beauty, allowing me to be absorbed by the moment. Before Hurricane Katrina, experiencing moments of carpe diem were few and far between.
I am also creating art to transform my reality and to play with the way I look at things. If I feel overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of life due to tragedies such as Katrina or situations for which I feel I have no control, making art allows me to feel I’ve regained a semblance of control, just enough to be able to respond to what is happening, instead of feeling victimized by it. Art, therefore, allows me to make sense of what feels senseless, thereby transforming my energy and reality in a positive way.
ELIZABETH KLEINVELD CV
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2011
For the Love of Flowers, Gallery A, Hong Kong
For the Love of Flowers, Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans
2010
Tulip Mania, Royal Delft Museum
2009
Flora: The Art of Nature, Flower Portraitsseries, The Darkroom, New Orleans, LA
2008
Art in Bloom, Expansionist Art Empire (EAE) Gallery, Leiden
Flower Portraits: Tribute to Dutch Masters, Arps Gallery, Amsterdam
Group
2011
Before, During, After: Louisiana Photographers Respond to Hurricane Katrina,
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans, LA
Art Shanghai, Asie Gallery
Fotofever Paris, Arps Gallery
2010
FOTOFEST: Longing for Depth: Nature & Spirit, Upstairs Room with a View Gallery, Houston
Before, During, After: Diverse Works, Houston, TX
Before, During, After: United States entry for the Amsterdam Photo Biennale, GRID 2010
Life’s Intentional Details, a healing arts exhibition of the Methodist Hospital, Houston
2009
5th annual auction for Larchmont Charter School,Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles
Paraphrase, The Darkroom, curated by John Lawrence (the Historic New Orleans Collection)
Open Art Fair, Arps Gallery, Utrecht
2008
‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’, Arps Gallery and ABN AMRO Bank, Amsterdam
Life Art Books, Library Leiden
Affordable Art Fair, Arps Gallery, Amsterdam
2007
Commemorating Katrina, Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, TX
Road to Peace, City Hall, The Hague
2006
Rebuilding New Orleans and All that Jazz, EAE Gallery, Leiden
Katrina Exposed, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
Seeing is Believing, Seeing is Healing, United States Senate (Russell Rotunda), Washington, DC
Selected Articles
Katrina Related Photo Exhibit opens at the State Museum February 17, Nola.com, Jan. 25, 2011
Rising From Katrina: BEFORE (DURING) AFTER, shelf unbound, December 2010
Katrina: 5 years Later, Louisiana Life Magazine, November – December 2010
Therapeutische fotografie in de VS, De Groene Amsterdammer, September 30, 2010
Before you forget Katrina: photos from the aftermath, Houston Chronicle, September 9, 2010
Gallery Scene: Opening this week: Before During After, Houston Art Attack, September 8, 2010
Greater Houston Weekly: All the Best: DiverseWorks presents Before (During) After, Sept.2010
Museum Agenda: Elizabeth Kleinveld: ode aan Delfts blauwe tuitvaas, Kunst & Antiek journaal
Ode aan de Delfts blauwe tuitvaas, Ariadne at Home, May 31, 2010
Ode aan de tuitvaas, More Than Classic, April 30, 2010
De kunst van het porselein fotograferen, Trend, February 2010
Loftuiting op Delftsblauwe tuitvaas, AD Delft, January 20, 2010
Flower Power, Eigen Huis & Interieur, December, 2009
Elegance, November & December 2009
Troost putten uit kleur en bloemen, Leidsch Dagblad, June 7, 2008
Agenda: Tentoonstelling, Het Financieele Dagblad, June 3, 2008
Niet te missen: Art in Bloom, Algemeen Dagblad, May 28, 2008
Life Art Books, Volkskrant, April 18, 2007
TLU to host New Orleans writers& photographers, Lone Star Iconoclast, February 2007
After Katrina, Acts of Art, Washington Post, August 2006
Never Forget: Katrina photos at New Orleans Museum of Art, The Times Picayune, May 2006
Expositie van door orkaan getroffen kunstenaars, Leidse Nieuwsblad, January 2006
Wederopbouwkunst voor New Orleans, Trouw, January 2006
Mardi Gras Madness, Tableau, February 1994
Pop Meets the Dead, Tableau, November 1993
Selected Publications
Before During After: Louisiana Photographers Visual Reactions to Hurricane Katrina, UNO Press 2010
Royal Delft, (Birthday calendar, note cards/books, address book) Museum Cards Amersfoort 2010
Flower Portraits, Tulips, Roses, Orchids, Museum Cards Amersfoort 2009
Art Guide Amsterdam & Artists in Amsterdam, 2008 & 2009
Road to Peace, Korea, 2007
Katrina Exposed, New Orleans Museum of Art, 2006
Selected Collections
US Embassy in The Hague (work from the Flower Reflections series on loan)
Royal Delft Museum, Delft, the Netherlands (work from the Tulip Mania series)
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA (work from the Katrina series)
Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans, LA (work from the Katrina series & Flower Reflections)
The Dutch Embassy, Washington DC (work from the Katrina series)
Selected Stock Collections
DEGALERIE DEN HAAG (work from the Flower Reflections series)
ARTSTART & Arps Gallery, Amsterdam (work from all series available)
Taylor Bercier & The Darkroom, New Orleans, LA (work from all series available)