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Item: Portrait of myself

Elly Strik

1998

Painting, 300 x 205 cm.
Materials: paper, oil, lacquer

Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK7036_M195B).

The Dutch artist Elly Strik maks big, impressive drawings – often two by three metres – in charcoal, graphite, chalk, ink, pastels, oils and enamel paint. In this way her work is an exceptional addition to a tradition of portraiture in which monumentality of scale is usually set opposite the portrait genre’s claims to intimacy. The large self-portraits from 1998 portray the artist shortly after she moved to Brussels, and they immediately exude a grey, surrealistic atmosphere (as a sort of homage?); in one of these portraits a colourless orchid hides the artist’s face, in another she holds out a huge white egg in front of her, again making herself unrecognisable.

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About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.