Saudade: Esther Nienhuis

Dutch-born Nienhuis regards the desire to be elsewhere as the essential characteristic of her work. Her paintings pivot on the moment at which Fernweh (desire for unknown) and Heimweh (desire for known) become inseparable. She seeks to expose the symbolic thresholds that distinguish the here and now from alternative realities and times—past, future and imaginary. 

In her Saudade series, Nienhuis dwells upon perspective through rain-covered or sun lit windscreens, the otherwise imperceptible glass frontier coming into focus through the textures she creates on the canvas’ surface. With Saudade lacking a direct English translation, it is evasive; it represents the emotional rather than the concrete, the nostalgic longing for a terminal absence. 

Nienhuis studied Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and has exhibited in Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia and Australia. She was awarded with the Dutch art prize Gasunie Kunstprijs in 2011 and in 2012 two of her works were selected for the ZomerExpo at the Gemeentenmuseum in The Hague, the Dutch equivalent to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.