The train departs from Amsterdam, heading towards a place where the horizon seems only the beginning. Right in front of me is a young woman seated. She’s going home. Her bag full. A thick book on her lap. She reads. She looks outside. Smiling at a girl who asks her name. “Debora. Deb”, she says. “Deb” repeats the girl and hops to her seat.
Debora van der Vliet is a Dutch visual artist and illustrator living in harmony with the calming sights of the nearby woods. She received a Bachelors Degree in Media Arts from the University of the Arts, Utrecht. In the 1950s, she would have been part of the group of female abstract expressionists, alongside inspiring artists such as Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell. She draws inspiration from their work.
As a young artist, she looked upon the world with wonder, yearning to flutter like a bird, to be light and to float above earthly existence. She tiptoed through the world like a ballerina, her creative expression serving as a means to embrace that lightness, to explore her inner world and communicate that to the outer world.
Her art is an invitation to play and discover, a safe space where a dance between form and formlessness occurs. Through her dedication to various artistic disciplines, such as video, textile and collage, she has developed her own unique style. She believes that exploring new territories and techniques only strengthens her work. Every experience, every discovery finds its way into her art, shaping it into its powerful form.
‘Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb, Deb’, the girl repeats.