Dutch artist, Hagar Vardimon, lives and works in the center of Amsterdam in the Netherlands with her husband, Sjoerd, and their two kids. Her home studio is bad-ass and its been her creative haven for over ten years.
Hagar’s technique involves using paper and threads to create fabulous collages. She see her artwork as storytelling, behind every found photograph she sees a new story that can be told. While collaging, Hagar enjoys overlooking her garden and in the summer, the doors are wide open so she can soak up the sun. She has a big working table, a smaller table for the computer, and three floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books and magazines. And of course lots of paper clippings for collages.
Her adorable pieces filled with bright colors originating from her studio have been seen both nationally and internationally at Robert Mann Gallery in New York; The Schneider Museum of Art in Oregon; Bedford Gallery in California; Museum of Musée de Sant Cugat in Catalogne, Spain; Galerie XS in Delft, The Netherlands and many other places worldwide.
Art Zealous loved peeking inside Hagar’s studio and had a great time catching up about all things art.
Art Zealous: How did you get started doing art?
Hagar Vardimon: I was creating and making art since before I can remember; so the next step after studying art was to become a full-time artist.
AZ: Creative process while in the studio?
HV: I always start with looking for a new image to work on. An image that intrigues me at that moment – an image that has a story I want to tell. The next step will be how to tell the story – I look into the shape, details, and space around the image & colors. This process can be short, but sometimes I come back again and again to the same images until the process gets clear.
AZ: Best time of day to work?
HV: Mornings. With a cup of coffee next to me.
AZ: What do you listen to while working?
HV: Jazz, classic rock, and podcasts.
AZ: You feature destinations/houses a lot in your work – what makes you choose a place to feature?
HV: The more deserted a house is, the happier I am with it. I love open landscapes, wild fields and mountains interrupted by only one lonely house. I cannot resist it. My heart jumps of happiness when I see that.
AZ: Favorite spot in Amsterdam?
HV: My garden!
AZ: Dream travel spot?
HV: Japan and Bali. Also Iceland and Finland. It’s hard to stop when I start thinking about amazing places to visit!
AZ: Tell us about your strategy incorporating polka dots and thread in your work?
HV: I use these two different mediums a lot. I use polka dots to create graphical, clean, white background paper collages. For the thread pieces, normally I work in series using one image or similar images together.
AZ: Currently working on?
HV: I’m working on a few upcoming exhibitions and commission works.
AZ: What can we expect to see from you in the future?
HV: At this moment, I see myself doing exactly what I’m doing now, trying to incorporate more paint and work on a bigger scale.
Follow Hagar on Instagram.
