Cécile Verwaaijen's visual language is tactile, soft and above all feminine! Carefully and with great attention she composes fabrics, shapes, lines, rhythm and color into wonderful and attractive compositions. In the sensual works in which simplicity, design and color set the tone, a new titillating space unfolds. There is another layer hidden in the work for those who want to see beyond the surface: it secretly reflects on male dominance in modern art. 
In her art, references can be found to the works of female artists whom she has admired for a long time, such as Yayoi Kusama, Ferdi, Louise Bourgeois, Lily van der Stokker and Kinke Kooi.


'There's a personal side to the eventual choice of textiles over paint, since it's the artist's favoured material. But there's also a meaningful aspect involved, as this is her way of arguing there's no such thing as inferior materials in an artist's practice. Fabric, then, is not just a polemic material, but also a source that brings a whole range of meanings. The artist actually demonstrates that it's possible to have a greater diversity in aesthetic preferences. She does not say so out loud, but shows it in her fabric.'

Ad en Esther van Rosmalen ( publication Club Solo, 2020)


Cécile Verwaaijen
1968 Silvolde ( NL)

Education
1992 AKV St. Joost, Breda ( NL)
1993 1994 Jan van Eyck Academy Maastricht ( NL)

Awards and Nominations
1993 Prix de Rome (nominee)
1998 Sybren Hellinga Prize (nominee)
2002 Johan Diepstraten Prize (winner audience prize)
 
Grants
1992 Reisbeurs, Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst, Amsterdam
1996 Basisstipendium, Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst, Amsterdam
1998 Reisbeurs, Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst, Amsterdam
1999 Basisstipendium, Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst, Amsterdam
2004 Basisstipendium, Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst, Amsterdam
2023 Makersregeling, Gemeente Breda
2025 Makersregeling, Gemeente Breda


Latest exhibitions ( selection)
2024    Abstracte narratieven, Galerie Ecker, Breda
2024    Nieuwe aanwinsten, Kunstuitleen Utrecht
2024    Solo at seaside de Baak, Noordwijk
2021    Razende stilstand, Stedelijk Museum Breda
2020    Club Solo, Breda
2020    Benefit for Brabant, PARK Tilburg
2019    Soft Dedication, LocHal Tilburg
2019    Raketstart, Stedelijk Museum Breda
2019    Galerie Drift, Breda
2016    Itineraires, Parijs
2015    Art Rotterdam, Kunstruimte Fred Wagemans
2014    Vaders en zonen, Museum de Wieger
2013    Licht op hedendaagse kunst, Breda’s Museum
2012    Vijf, Kunstruimte Fred Wagemans


Collections
Amphia Ziekenhuizen Breda
Stadscollectie Breda
Stedelijk Museum Breda
CBK Gelderland
Kunstuitleen Utrecht
Provinciale Kunstuitleen Collectie, Utrecht
GGD 
Vrouwenhuis Breda
Many private collections


︎︎  Cécile Verwaaijen 2025