Jantien Jongsma, Tree of Life, 2008

Museum JAN presents an overview of the work of Jantien Jongsma (1965). A graduate of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, she has developed into a master of storytelling using various techniques on paper. Her colorful work combines embroidery patterns, painting techniques, and pencil drawings, with a focus on the life cycle.

Jongsma's anecdotal oeuvre reads like a diary in sketchbook form. Her main focus is on the stages of life, using her own life as a starting point. In her creative process, she uses a visual language derived from folk art and handicrafts, traditionally made mainly by women. Embroidery—intended to test one's skills—is a source of inspiration. Jongsma uses motifs from these works to visualize the themes of a woman's life. According to her, the patterns of old embroidery represent a summary of life, with traditional everyday scenes from birth to death, as well as family trees and the seasons. The themes in folk art touch everyone. Jongsma: "Ultimately, we all live according to an embroidery pattern."

Jongsma grew up surrounded by art and craftsmanship. Her mother was interested in handicrafts, folk art, and naive painting, and collected embroidery. Inspired by the structure with decorative borders in various embroidery stitches, Jongsma began to tell stories in the graphic cross-stitch style. Characters in historical costumes stand alongside contemporary elements. In her work, Jongsma blends her own experiences and childhood memories with place-specific cultural history. This results in an imaginative whole, often set in places where Jongsma has lived or that have left an impression on her.

Tree of Life

The exhibition Tree of Life includes work by Jongsma from the past 15 years. Her monumental work Tree of Life (2008) is her earliest work, constructed as a tapestry, without perspective or depth. From the edges, the cycle of human life is depicted in a circle, interwoven with personal scenes. The delicate, graphic cross-stitch drawings contrast with the powerful and expressive painting of the tree of life.

The drawing Amsterdam (2012) clearly shows the influence of topographical maps. Following the example of medieval maps that schematically depict the earth with place names and inscribed events such as battles, Jongsma has started her own series. She fills maps of Dutch places such as Harlingen, Franeker, Sint-Jacobi Parochie, Dokkum, and Amsterdam with illustrated stories from her own life. A number of these can be seen in the exhibition.

She believes that nature is an essential condition for a harmonious society, in which a city also needs light, air, and space. That is why nature has come to play an increasingly prominent role in her work.

Her most recent work features scenes from the world of theater and dance, with characters in playful costumes. Children playing and adults dancing in an urban landscape are surrounded by greenery and architecture. Jongsma imagines all human movements as one big choreography.