Marjan Wouda
Image: Laughing Dog - Bronze, copyright the artist.
Born in 1960 on her family’s dairy farm in the North of Holland, Marjan Wouda came to England when she was 19, having finished secondary school “hungry for experience and independence”. She followed a Visual Arts Foundation Course at Manchester Polytechnic, followed by a Fine Art Degree Course - specialising in sculpture - at North East London Polytechnic, at the completion of which she was awarded a First Class Honours Degree.
Marjan was selected for an internationally touring exhibition Germinations IV, which took her work to Marseille, Breda (Holland), London (Royal College of Art), and Bonn.
In 1987 she returned to Manchester to complete her formal art training with an MA Fine Art (Sculpture) Course.
Marjan has carried out numerous public sculpture commisions in recent years including:
a commission for London Docklands Development, also commissions for Newcastle upon Tyne, Preston, Lancaster and several in Greater Manchester. Marjan was commissioned to produce the first and only public sculpture on the island of Mustique. In 1996 she received a commission for the new British Consulate in Hong Kong. Her work is in a number of private collections.
Since 1996 Marjan has regularly exhibited in Amsterdam and in London; the latter mainly at Curwen Gallery in Fitzrovia.
Marjan has contributed to two major touring exhibitions. The first, Chanticleer, an exhibition of prints and sculptures by Adrienne Craddock and Marjan Wouda, which was inspired by Chaucer’s The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, toured to 15 venues around the UK, Holland and Ireland. A second collaborative project, The Mare’s Tale, was initiated and co-ordinated by the artist.
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Image: The Informer, bronze, copyright the artist.
Since 2000 Marjan has lived in Darwen, East Lancashire with her family.
Marjan Wouda’s work has been reviewed in The Sunday Times Magazine (New London, April ’99, Life Forms by Ria Higgins), The Independant; (EYE ON TUESDAY , 23 December 1997, Collect Call by John Windsor), and in the Artist’s and Illustrator’s Magazine (January 2001, by Laura Gascoigne). Her work also featured on The Arts and Antiques Hour, BBC 2, in 1998.
Her work sells regularly at Christie's and Sotheby's auctions.
There are a number of works currently on display at the Linton Court Gallery.
What others have said about the work of Marjan Wouda
Sir Kyffin Williams, RA, artist: “Here is someone whose work is indeed true sculpture. She possesses an almost surreal twist to her work that immediately makes it thought provoking. Some of her work has a tenderness that is most moving, an emotion that is usually lacking in modern sculpture.”
Marina Warner, critic and curator: “...your portrayals of Mother Hubbard’s dog are truly delightful.”
RogerMcGough, poet: “...I was very flattered to contribute to your exhibition project, particularly when I saw some illustrations of your work”