BEHIND THE EASEL

 

​A sudden flash of bright, vivid eyes. A toss of exquisitely styled hair. These are timeless moments when we encounter high fashion, and artist Anja has caught them all and more in her truly remarkable new body of work mixing both classical and contemporary ideas of fashion. Anja specializes in large-scale portraiture featuring beautiful, expressive women, and her images have the power of enticing viewers and leading them to interpret a variety of meanings in each expression.

Born in Belgium in 1969, Anja Van Herle combines a European sense of high fashion in her artwork with an American sense of wonder. Her childhood years were devoted to exploring the fundamentals of her art using crayons, pencils and watercolors. In 1987, she enrolled in Belgium’s Higher Institute for Art Education where she earned a Master’s of Fine Arts in Painting. In 2003, Anja relocated to Los Angeles, where she now concentrates on figurative paintings that are inspired by both classic and contemporary fashion while exploring issues of identity, emotion and human interrelationships. As timelessly chic as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Anja’s women are playfully sexy, and their expressions and eyes tell stories that go far beyond the simple exhibition of fine fashion. In Anja’s masterful hands, fashion becomes alive. “These women—they feel.”

​“My work is an attempt to capture the complexity of emotions that are
conveyed in the human face. I’ve been painting portraits since I was a child, continually drawing closer to the face and eyes in order to explore the emotions they contain. There’s a story behind every face; my paintings are an attempt to tell these stories by capturing delicate facial expressions and juxtaposing them with vibrant color and the dramatic interplay of shadow and light that both inform my subjects and maintain their enigmatic aura. I’m constantly delighted by the various interpretations my work receives. For some, a subject may be pensive, while to others it may be seductive or confrontational. Part of the viewing experience is for a viewer to attach his or her own emotional meaning to a work.”​

 

SELECTED COLLECTIONS:

 

Steven Tyler, Aerosmith

Paula Abdul, Singer, Songwriter

David Guetta, French House Music Producer

Xavier Malisse, Top 20 ATP Tennis Player, Wimbledon SF

Rob Schmitt, Anchorman CBS Los Angeles

Jordan McGraw & Dr. Phil McGraw, Los Angeles, CA (Dr. Phil)
Jamie Kennedy, Los Angeles, CA(Scream, Malibu’s Most Wanted, Boiler Room)
Fred Savage, Los Angeles, CA (The Wonder Years)
Ben Savage, Los Angeles, CA (Boy Meets World)
Cassandra Mann, Alfred Mann Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
John Calley, John Calley Productions, Los Angeles, California
Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, California
Siegfried & Roy, Las Vegas, Nevada
Warren Beatty, Los Angeles, California (Bonnie & Clyde, Reds, Bulworth)
Deaniemel Custom Jewelry Designs, Beverly Hills, California
The Glowacki Group, CPA Financial Planners, Los Angeles, California
Randall Davis Company, Houston, Texas
Weytjens Optical, Brussels, Belgium
VanWassenhoven-Vangenechten Architects, Brussels, Belgium
Spar Supermarkets, Beringen, Belgium

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SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

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. Signature Gallery, Las Vegas, 2013
. Joanne Artman Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2013
. Michael J. Wolf Gallery, San Diego, CA 2013
. JoAnne Artman Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2012
. Collection Privee Gallery, Miami, FL,

. Signature Gallery, Las Vegas, 2011 - 2012    

.  Oh My Godard Gallery, Las Vegas, 2012
. Michael J. Wolf Gallery, San Diego, CA 2011 - 2012
.  Rawstyle Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2011
. Illoulian Contemporary Art Gallery, CA 2011
. J.E.T Studio’s NoHo Gallery, North Hollywood, CA 2011
. Jack Gallery, Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, 2011
. Jack Gallery, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas, 2011
. Jack Gallery, New Orleans, 2011
. Jack Gallery, Chicago, 2011
. Townley Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2011
. Michael J.Wolf Gallery, San Diego, CA 2010

. Jack Gallery, New Orleans, French Quarter, January, 2010
. Jack Gallery, Las Vegas, Nevada November 2009
. Michael J. Wolf Gallery, San Diego, CA June 2009
. Arty Gallery, Los Angeles, CA August 2009
. White Orchid Gallery, West Hollywood, CA July 2007 - July 2009
. The Lurie Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA October, 2008
. James Gray Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA 2007
. NOHO Gallery L.A., North Hollywood, CA November-December 2006
. Girari Contemporary Art, Beverly Hills, CA October-December 2006
. Juried Exhibitor, Malibu Arts Festival, Malibu, California 2006
. Juried Exhibitor, Affaire in the Gardens, Beverly Hills, California 2006
. Juried Exhibitor, Affaire in the Gardens, Beverly Hills, California 2005
. Solo Show, Diest Provincial Museum, Diest, Belgium 1995
. Solo Show, Da Carlo Gallery, Heusden, Belgium 1994
. Juried Exhibitor, Antwerp City Art Council, Antwerp, Belgium 1992

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

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-"Red Lips, Fingertips."  Riviera Magazine.  ​

-“Hot, Hot, Hot! Anja Van Herle’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ makes us want to rock.”
       OC Weekly.  Vol. 17, No. 37, May 1-17, 2012.

​-“The Best-Kept Art Secret in L.A.” Montage Magazine. Summer 2012. ​

-Bluff Magazine, August, 2006.  Advertising Artwork, Image: ‘Focus’

-Cardplayer Magazine, Vol. 19/No. 13 July 11, 2006.

  Advertising Artwork, Image: ‘Focus’

-Belang van Limburg, Chris Craps, May 9th, 2005.