Jeane, 1992

It was love at first sight, when Nico Vrielink (1958) met Jeane in Singapore in 1985. That meeting would be a turning point in his personal and artistic life.

Vrielink studied to be a teacher at an art academy in Belgium. Teaching, however, proved not to be his calling and since 1984 he has worked alone as an artist. In 1985, during one of his many travels, Vrielink met his wife Jeane in Singapore and she has been Vrielink’s greatest source of inspiration ever since. She can rightly be called his muse.

Vrielink has created more than 4000 works of art with her as the subject. Not only the model has remained the same over the years, also the paintings. Mostly (half) nude, Oriental, realistic, idyllic, recognizable and exotic. His starting point is to portray his wife’s face as perfection. The rest of the body, the decor and the general finish are adjusted to this, from dark to bright. Because of the discretion Vrielink puts into his work, there remains a natural distance between the model and the viewer.

Over the years, Vrielink and Jeane have lived in many different places, from the Netherlands to France and Bali. All these places have had an influence on his work. Vrielink’s work is admired and acclaimed all over the world, as evidenced by the many exhibitions in the most exotic places.

The devotion with which he portrays his ‘dream woman’, often in sensual poses, bursts from his canvases. It has brought him an immense circle of admirers and buyers, while numerous museums and art collectors cherish the possession of at least one ‘original Vrielink’ as part of their collection.