
“Searching for connections between the earthly and the spiritual, I take inspiration from authentic tribal forms and customs, shapes from nature.”
Leonnie van Eert is a ceramic artist born in the Netherlands. Although she started her work as a ceramicist later in life, Leonnie was always interested and involved in various forms of artistic expression.
In 1997 she spent one year in Suriname to work with youngsters with a mental disability. Back in the Netherlands she worked at a center for asylum seekers, because she felt drawn to the diversity in cultures. In 2000 Leonnie moves back to Suriname, and starts working as a social worker and an artistic supervisor for special needs groups. She starts taking ceramic lessons from Soeki Irodikromo, who inspired her to develop her own style.
While searching for a connection between the earthly and the spiritual, she takes inspiration from authentic tribal forms and customs, shapes from nature, and from her work with special needs groups as well. Her work with the indigenous Trio community of Kwamalasamutu in particular, has left a lasting impression as well. In her mostly semi-abstract works she often incorporates other natural materials such as bamboo, jute, rope and seeds.
In 2018 work from Leonnie was included in the exhibition 6 x 6 Ceramic Tile, an exhibition in the IDB Staff Association Art Gallery in Washington DC. In 2019 the artist moved back to the Netherlands, where she will live and work for a few years.