Femke Hiemstra
Work
Hiemstra started as a freelance illustrator for 10 years until her paintings became too elaborate for commissions and she transitioned into working primarily in fine art. Her work is usually categorized as pop surrealist or American lowbrow art, but she has said that the most accurate label for her work is "Neo-Fabulism"[1] due to the anthropomorphic (see Anthropomorphism), and narrative-based subject matter.[2] Despite her underground style, Hiemstra has been met with a dedicated fan base; most of her shows selling out within minutes of their announcement.[3] Her mixed media works are made with delicate layers of acrylic paint and color pencil on the surfaces of old books or other bric-a-brac objects. The themes are often mixtures of animals and comic characters, dark surreal settings and stylized typography.
- Carnival, or the Story of a Sad Hungry Bunny. Antwerp, Bries, 2005
- Rock Candy. With an overview of her work, Fantagraphics Books, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60699-149-7.
Exhibitions
2011
- February 5 - April 17, 2011: ‘Suggestivism’ exhibition at GCAC, Santa Ana, CA[4]
- March 11 - April 2, 2011: Hi Fructose group show at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA[5][6]
- July, 2011: Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2010
- May 8 to 29: ‘Neo Fabulists’ shared solo show with Heiko Müller, Fred Stonehouse, Atak and Ryan Heshka at Feinkunst Krüger, Hamburg, Germany
- September 11 to October 2, 2010: BLAB! group show at Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
- November 12 to December 4, 2010: Shared solo show ‘The Bone Shaped Bone’ with Ryan Heska at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
- December 11 to January 30, 2010: ‘Bonjour, Dachshund!’, shared solo exhibition at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
2009
- January 17 to February 18, 2009: ‘Beasts! #2’ group exhibition at Giant Robot Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA
- April 4 to April 25, 2009: ‘The Herring’s Hairdo’, shared solo exhibition with Keith Weesner at Copro Nason, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- April 16 to 29, 2009: Prints & The Revolution group exhibition, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- May 5 to June 6, 2009: ‘Lush Life’, group exhibition at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
- July 23 & 24, 2009: ‘Scribble o8’, group exhibition curated by Mark Murphy, Wonderhaus, San Diego, CA, USA
- August 8 to 29, 2009: ‘The BLAB Apocalypse show’, group exhibition at Copro Nason, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- December 5 to 23, 2009: ‘Don’t Wake Daddy #4, The Drawing Show’, group exhibition at Feinkunst Krüger, Hamburg, Germany
2008
- February 8 to March 1, 2008: Group exhibition 'A cabinet of natural curiosities' at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
- April 11 to May 3, 2008: Shared solo exhibition at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, USA
- June 20 to June 22, 2008: 'Garage Sale' #4, group exhibition at Chiellerie Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- July 11 to August 2, 2008: 10th Anniversary Roq la Rue, group exhibition at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
- September 6, 2008: group exhibition Heiko Müller, Fred Stonehouse and Anthony Pontius, Feinkunst Krüger, Hamburg, Germany
- December 13 to January 3, 2008: Group exhibition Copro Nason, Santa Monica, CA, USA
2007
- February 9 to March 3, 2007: Shared solo exhibition at Roq la Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
- April 6 to April 9, 2007: 'Garage Sale' #3, group exhibition at the Chiellerie Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- June 2 to July 8, 2007: Shared exhibition at MF Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- November, 2007: Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam with Koch Bos Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- December 1, 2007 to Januari 26, 2008: La Fenêtre Secrète, solo exhibition at Koch Bos Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2006
- April 1 to May 16, 2006: 'Girls, girls, girls', group exhibition at MF Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
- April 14 to April 16, 2006: 'Garage Sale' #2, group exhibition at Chiellerie Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- September 16 to October 31, 2006: ‘Halloween’ group exhibition at MF Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2005
- November 26 to December 12, 2005: 'Art Trek' #2, group exhibition at Mekanik, Antwerpen, Belgium
2004
- October 1 to October 3, 2004: 'Garage Sale' #1, group exhibition at Chiellerie Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
References
- "Femke Hiemstra - Otherworldly Folklore - WOW x WOW". WOW x WOW. 2014-11-04. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
- "After 10 Years, Femke Hiemstra Returned with 'Sonntag Spasstag'". Jaski Gallery. 2017-09-30. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
- "FEMKE HIEMSTRA: Amsterdam, The Netherlands". Light Seeking Eyes. 2014-03-19. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
- "Openings: Suggestivism @ GCAC". Arrested Motion. 2011-02-11. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- "The 2011 Hi-Fructose Invitational at Roq la Rue – Opens Tonight". Hi Fructose. 2011-03-11. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- "Hi Fructose Group Show Invitational". Roq la Rue Gallery blog. 2011-03-11. Archived from the original on March 14, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2018.