Now on view at our atelier in Dalfsen and online: Landscapes in paint and porcelain by visual artist Esther van der Sluis. Her work moves between fragility and strength. She explores vulnerability, transience and layered landscapes, each piece feeling like a memory. We'd love to welcome you.

The work of Esther van der Sluis moves between painting, ceramics, textiles and installations. Central themes include vulnerability, transience, beauty and the layered nature of landscapes. “I want to capture the atmosphere of that one precise moment, perhaps with a touch of sunlight or mist. So that a work of art does not only show a moment, but carries it. That you can feel it. That it breathes. That it has a soul.”

visit the online exhibition

How did your journey as an artist begin?
“I grew up in a family of artists. Because of that, I learned to truly observe from an early age. For me, that is the foundation of everything. My mother is a portrait painter, so at home we often talked about the way you look, what you see and what light does. About proportions. About atmosphere. About what you notice when you look with real attention. That way of looking was simply part of daily life. Around the dinner table, over tea. I received my first camera when I was eight years old. That kind of early exposure is invaluable. It reminds me of top athletes who grow up immersed in a certain discipline from a young age. That is how it feels for me as well. Painting, ceramics, textiles, interior design and architecture are all connected in my mind. The essence remains the same. Everything begins with observation.”

What inspires you?
“Nature, light, the seasons and the atmosphere of a moment. It could be a misty morning along the river IJssel, a blazing sun above a sandy landscape, blooming wild carrot, fossils along the riverbanks, seed pods, leaves or roots. I am fascinated by how everything that lives changes, blossoms, fades and disappears again. I live and work in the Dutch river landscape and there you feel very strongly how transient everything is. Seasons come and go. Plants bloom and wither. Animals live and die. Water rises and falls. That transience continues to fascinate me. It is an endless source of inspiration.”

How would you describe your work?
“The vulnerability of life is the thread that runs through everything I make. My work moves between fragility and strength. Between softness and something slightly raw. Between stillness and tension. I love contrasts. Fragility next to solidity, subtle forms next to unpolished edges, gloss next to matte surfaces. Refinement alongside something earthy and rough. You see this in my ceramics but also in my paintings. My landscapes are layered, quiet and restrained in colour. I work a lot with earthy tones. My palette is natural, calm and understated. The tension in my work does not come from bold colours but from nuance, light, texture and atmosphere. People often say they recognize my visual language. That may be the greatest compliment an artist can receive.”

What fascinates you about landscapes?
“I mostly paint the Dutch landscape, the coast, the floodplains and the rivers. But it is not about depicting one specific place. It is about the atmosphere of a moment. Mist, winter light, a certain silence, a season that you can almost feel. I often build my landscapes in layers, the way I perceive them in reality. Grassland, dike, water, a row of trees, sky. That layering fascinates me. Not only visually but emotionally as well. A landscape is never flat. There is always something beneath it, behind it or between it.”

What gives you satisfaction in your work?
“The experiment. In a way I am engaged in an endless experiment. Something appears that was not there before. You begin with an idea or a feeling and slowly something comes to life. The most beautiful moment is when a piece touches someone in a way I could never have imagined. When someone does not just look but truly feels something. For me art should carry something. An atmosphere, a memory, a vulnerability. In ceramics you can make that very tangible. A large porcelain bowl with unfinished edges may look extremely fragile but in fact it is not. It has been fired at 1250 degrees and is therefore very strong. The outside is unglazed with a soft matte skin. The inside is glazed and glossy. Sometimes there is a very small rim of gold. That contrast fascinates me and you also see it reflected in my landscapes.”

You create landscapes but you also work with ceramics and textiles?
“I try to keep developing. From landscapes to porcelain, to textiles, to new forms. I continue to explore and experiment. In recent years the focus has increasingly shifted toward clay and ceramics. The connection with my paintings is that the landscape keeps returning but in another form. Light plays a very important role in that. When porcelain is fired at high temperatures it becomes partially translucent. I find that fascinating. By placing light behind the porcelain some areas begin to glow while others remain opaque. In that way new layers and tensions emerge within the work.”

Which themes return in your work?
“Transience, imperfection, simplicity, nature and light. For me these are not separate themes but natural parts of how I see and work. I feel strongly connected to the Japanese design tradition, especially wabi-sabi and kintsukuroi. They embrace the beauty of imperfection and impermanence. Not everything needs to be perfect. The traces of fragility or change often give something meaning and character.”

Light plays an important role?
“Yes, absolutely. Light is essential for me. The first thing I look at is where the sun rises and where it sets. Light influences how we experience a space or landscape, often more strongly than we realize. It shapes atmosphere and emotion. This plays a role in my paintings but also in my interior designs and my work with porcelain. When you work with light an object can almost come alive. It becomes softer, more vibrant and more intriguing.”

How did the collaboration with By Mölle begin?
“We have known each other for a long time and at a certain point our paths crossed again. We share a similar sensitivity for atmosphere, materials, calmness and layering. It is not only about form but also about meaning. Attention to natural materials, to health, to beauty and to what a space does to people. I particularly value the cross pollination with art. And I find it beautiful when women strengthen each other, take each other’s work seriously and bring one another into the light. I truly feel that in this collaboration.”

Your work also touches on the vulnerability of climate, cycles and nature?
“In recent years this has become increasingly important because it affects me personally. I draw my inspiration from nature and I also see what is changing. Climate change. Extremely high and low water levels here. The weather. The impact on the landscape. With my work I try to make that beauty and vulnerability visible. Not by shouting loudly but by inviting people to look. To feel. And to reflect.”