about me
When painting she uses a multitude of materials, mixed and on top of each other, sometimes sanded away again, until they merge into one image. The carrier, whether canvas or metal, is just as important as the paint. Canvas is stretched with force in such a way that it – literally- starts to undulate, metal is scratched.
The paintings always show movement, movement in the form, which changes when you slide your eyes over it, and movement in the play of colors and material and yet…they posses a silent power.
‘Little treasures’, that is how she describes her jewelry; miniature sculptures composed of age old and contemporary, often worthless materials, brazenly combined and not bound to the traditions of jewelry making. They express her feelings and thoughts about life. They invite touching and they tell a story, summarized in titles justifying their existence.
Whether it is a painting, an object or a piece of jewelry, Kessler invents her own language by questioning material and techniques, continuous searching for new possibilities.
Material is the vehicle of her thoughts. All her work is inextricably linked and informs each other.
a time of seeing
Film made by Paul de Ruijter commissioned by artist Beppe Kessler and CODA museum Apeldoorn (NL) for the exhibition ‘A Time of Seeing – 40 years Beppe Kessler’.
beppe kessler
Amsterdam 1952
education
Gerrit Rietveld Academy (1979)
textile department
grants & awards
2019
grant AFK, Amsterdam (NL)
2012
1997 and 2009
Herbert Hofmann Prize Munich (DE)
2004
Support from Prins Bernhard Culture Fund (NL)
1997
3 months ‘Artist in Residence’ Wenen (AT)
1996 / 2001 / 2004
stipendium BKBV fund (NL)
1996 / 2004
’the best book designs’ nomination (NL)
workshops & lectures
workshop material matters, Hiko Mizuno, Osaka (JP)
2015 / 2017
workshop handwriting and material matters, L’Institut Jeanne Toussaint, Brussels (BE)
workshop material matters, Hiko Mizuno, Tokio (JP)
2013
2012
2007
lecture, works, Fachhochschule, Düsseldorf (DE)
1992 / 1993 / 1994
lecture, Maastricht Institute of Arts (NL)
1993
lecture, Studium Generale, Noordelijke Hogeschool, Leeuwarden (NL)
lecture, Maastricht Institute of Arts (NL)
lecture, Akademie für Angewandte Kunst, Wien (AT)
teaching
teacher, Industrial Design, University of Technology, Delft (NL)
1985 – 1987
teacher, Fashion Department, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Utrecht (NL)
1982 – 1983
teacher, Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de kunsten, formerly d’Witte Leli, Amsterdam (NL)