Artist and writer Dineke Blom visited the exhibition Bitches Brew at the Bonnefanten museum (Maastricht, the Netherlands) and wrote an impassioned essay exploring the role of personal figuration and the extent to which it reveals the artist. ‘In Bitches Brew, Keetje Mans, Tanja Ritterbex, and Aline Thomassen put an unexpected spin on personal figuration. ‘I take a life as lived by a woman as my starting point for each of the three exhibitions. The three artists share a great deal of their own lives—both in conversations with one another and through figurative elements in their work. Surprisingly, that open, personal aspect actually convinced me that Thomassen, Ritterbex, and Mans are masters of the art of concealment. False trail, smokescreen, witches’ brew—it is all encapsulated in that intriguing group portrait accompanying the exhibition.’
