Isabella de Jong speaks:
Marianne Y. Naerebout
If you look at the artworks of Naerebout, you immediately know that there is a special story. The colours are vibrant, intense, pure and striking. The shapes, figures and subjects reinforce the suspicion that there is a lot of travelling and that there is a tropical culture that is anchored in the heart of the artist.
Youth
Marianne Y Naerebout was born in Rotterdam but soon the family moves to Curacao with the baby. How wonderful to grow up under the almost always present sun surrounded by cheerful colours that are so characteristic of the island. In the vicinity of the beautiful sea and with the freedom of the outdoors. The young Naerebout enjoys the beach, nature and the cosiness of the people and the steel bands. Her head and heart fill with these images that consist mainly of colours, lots of colours and joy.
After wonderful years in the tropics, the family returns to the Netherlands. Here Naerebout first goes through the pedagogical academy and then goes on to study at the St Joost Art Academy in Breda.
Travel and artist
Once on her own feet it starts to itch quickly. After years of training in the Netherlands, the world lures and Naerebout leaves for Oman. She works there to provide for her maintenance, but the tropical roster also gives her plenty of room to give shape to her artistry. All experiences and emotions are translated into beautiful colourful artworks. Naerebout is a humans person and mingles easily with the local population. Here she also meets local artists to try out with. An individual style develops naturally through all these unique experiences. After three years Oman, the journey continues to Damascus. Here there is a completely different atmosphere and makes a deep impression on the young Naerebout. For five years she lives and works in this special city, experiences she will never forget.
The smell, the colours and the friendly people involved give her a secure feeling. Her art grows deeper with these influences. They make her line play even more powerful, the colours even more intense. After Damascus she then lives in Malaysia, Albania, Gabon, America and everywhere she mingles naturally with the local population. And more and more the feeling of a world without borders grows. No borders between countries, not in colour, feeling, experience, everything has become unlimited in all its experiences.
Anyone who experiences her or sees her work knows and feels it. The world of Naerebout is big, colourful, loving, joyful, positive and sparkling.
I will never forget a special moment that I experienced during a joint trip with Naerebout; “A tall, dark, older man, dressed entirely in white, sat on a bench under a tree. A beautiful image, I wanted to take a picture of it but did not know if it was appropriate. Naerebout sat down with him and was already in a conversation with him before I could focus my lens. They looked each other in the eye, so beautiful. Two people from different worlds but without borders. Magnificent! “
Naerebout still travels a lot. These influences and their dynamics still colour her life and her work. In addition to her autonomous work she also works in assignment. Her great loving heart makes her regularly commit to charitable causes.
I sometimes think: “I wish the whole world was more Naerebout”.
Isabella de Jong
