Art Appreciation
Born in Bogotá in 1989, Raquel Van Haver spent her formative years between Colombia and the Netherlands, where she later completed her fine arts degree at HKU in Utrecht, in 2012. This bicultural upbringing fostered her sense of being an "outsider," a theme she carries into her creative practice.
Since her breakthrough, she has actively deepened her ties to her roots by returning to work and research in Colombia, while also forging connections in places like Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Van Haver's work is known for its tactile complexity -- layered oils on burlap enriched with plaster, tar, coal, resin, chalk, ash, charcoal, hair, party beads, and found objects. She frequently incorporates text, collage, drawings, and sculptural elements like cigarette butts, paper beads, event posters, and even Nollywood (Nigerian film industry) posters to highlight themes of migration, identity, and social justice.
In New York's "Rising Phoenix" series, she added monotypes and paintings created in collaboration with Johannesburg's David Krut Workshop, investigating protection, security, and the symbolism of bared wire halos around figures.
Several of Van Haver's major work stand out, including Mid-Present-50 (diptych), a vast jute-sack painting embedding spray paint, tar, hair, balloons, chalk, candles, and party streamers. Her 2018 Spirits of the Soil exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam featured monumental, multilayered canvases such as Dem Smoke and Blaze under Royal Regime and the immersive 13 x 30 feet mural We Do Not Sleep As We Parade All Through the Night -- a celebratory yet critical tableau reflecting communal life and diaspora connections.
She was also awarded the Dutch Royal Prize for Painting in 2018, further cementing her standing in the contemporary global art scene.
Sources:
https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/editorial/raquel-van-haver-spirits/
https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/raquel-van-haver-the-outsider-weaves-herself-in/
https://www.artco-gallery.com/akaa-raquel-van-haver/
https://davidkrutprojects.com/69040/rising-phoenix-raquel-van-havers-exploration-of-materialism-security-and-identity
https://davidkrutprojects.com/69040/rising-phoenix-raquel-van-havers-exploration-of-materialism-security-and-identity
https://www.larkindurey.com/artworks/7842-raquel-van-haver-mid-present-50-diptych-2019/
https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/events/raquel-van-haver-spirits-of-the-soil/
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