reads as an inquiry into the precise moment one reality transitions into

another. Her work occupies a ‘twilight zone’—an interstitial space where shadow becomes matter, a tea towel transforms into a landscape, and a canvas becomes an open window.

There is a distinctly Dutch character recognizable in her approach: a

sober, almost pragmatic handling of materials that is entirely averse to

pretense. There is no imposed drama here, but rather a rigorous focus

on the essence. During her residency at the Rijksakademie (1989-1991),

Ellemers became fascinated by the empty canvas. She decided to render visible the “soft technology” of warp and weft—the very spine of the textile.

Spanning four decades, she has built an oeuvre in which textile serves

as the medium for almost exclusively abstract subjects. She processes,

paints, and stretches the fabric, resulting in a visual vocabulary that

resonates, intrigues, and compels the viewer to look again. Found fabrics carry an embedded history; they are fragments of the quotidian that we too often take for granted.