Nina
Van de Ven

Nina van de Ven (Tilburg, The Netherlands) is a contemporary Dutch artist recognized for her monumental drawings on paper. Working primarily in charcoal, pastel and mixed media, she creates large scale compositions in which mythology, folklore, contemporary subculture and everyday symbolism converge. Her practice positions drawing not merely as a medium, but as a conceptual foundation through which layered narratives unfold.

Van de Ven studied Fine Art at AKV | St. Joost in the Netherlands, where she developed her distinctive visual language. Her works are characterized by powerful figuration, hybrid characters and densely constructed scenes that oscillate between the archaic and the contemporary. References to ancient rituals, ethnographic imagery and historical iconography are seamlessly interwoven with elements drawn from modern consumer culture and street aesthetics. This fusion results in a compelling tension between tradition and modernity, intimacy and monumentality.

Her expansive works on paper function as immersive environments. Through an intuitive yet highly disciplined process, Van de Ven builds complex visual worlds that invite prolonged viewing. Symbols recur, transform and interact, forming a personal cosmology that reflects on identity, collective memory and the mechanisms through which societies construct meaning.

Van de Ven’s work has been exhibited at leading Dutch institutions and art platforms, including De Pont Museum, Art Rotterdam, and Dutch Design Week, among others. Her growing presence within the contemporary art landscape affirms her position as a significant voice in the renewed appreciation of drawing as an autonomous and powerful medium.

Through her monumental works on paper, Nina van de Ven constructs a universe where symbolism, imagination and cultural reflection intersect offering collectors and audiences a profound and visually arresting experience.

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