On Monday 2 September, the start of academic year 2024-2025, artist Marije Vermeulen's new mural 'Hook-Ups' on the side of the E Building was officially opened. The painting, which incorporates many geometric shapes, was inspired by the E Building itself. 'It is a building that makes my heart beat faster,' Marije Vermeulen said during the opening. 'I want the things I paint on the wall to make people look more at what is already there.'
'I always look for the connection with the location of the artwork,' she says. 'I always want to measure and map everything with photos, sketches and drawings.' Geometric shapes and lines in the artwork form a connecting pattern that builds on the existing architectural lines and details of the E Building. 'I didn't want to hide all the 'skin' of the building behind paint because it's a beautiful building and the artwork should connect with it.'
The art of connecting
Hook-Ups, with a total size of about 13 x 19 metres, depicts the theme of connecting and symbolises Erasmus University Rotterdam's commitment to embracing the art of connecting through interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement. You can see the mural on the E Building from the Erasmus Plaza and from the car park below. The E Building has been nominated to be demolished, but the future of the building is currently being studied.
Solo exhibition in Erasmus Gallery
Following the opening of the mural, Marije Vermeulen's solo exhibition ‘3 = The Magic Number’ opened in the Erasmus Gallery. Besides a spatial installation, this exhibition also features her autonomous work.
'I want the things I paint on the wall to make people look more at what is already there.'
Marije Vermeulen
Artist
About Marije Vermeulen
Marije Vermeulen (1976) creates paintings, installations and murals in which a bright, fresh use of colour stands out. Her modernist and playful style is influenced by both the glamour of Pop Art and the geometric beauty of De Stijl. Her abstract works are the result of an extensive design process in sketches; she measures, stacks, tilts, repeats and slides shapes, blocks and planes on and next to each other. She uses the basic shapes square, triangle and circle and forms derived from them such as stripe patterns in stylised shading. Surface divisions, shape and colour combinations used have their origins in fashion, magazines, design, nature and architecture. A reference to those origins of the shapes and patterns in the work are often found in their titles as in the case of Hook-Ups, which refers both to connection and to an architectural detail of the E-building.
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On Monday 2 September 2024, we opened the Academic Year 2024-2025. Read more about the Opening.
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