About me
I was born in South Africa and moved to Germany in 2014. Being a free spirit, I have always been addicted to the thrill of creating. Art was naturally one of my school subjects, and for the final examination my art teacher nominated me for a distinction – unfortunately I didn’t make it. I then enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, but after the first year I switched to fashion design and received a diploma. I started as a designer in a bridal boutique and soon owned my own fashion boutique. I have always taken giant mental leaps and started new things.
My approach to art is similar, which is why “diverse” describes my work well. The main objective is to create something that portrays a mood or a character, or expresses my feelings about the subject. It can be anything from portraits, cityscapes, wildlife and flowers to the abstract. The subject of each piece spontaneously decides its materials and style, but whatever I do must somehow make sense. Painting is therapeutic, like meditation; it is my way of finding inner peace.
My style is primarily impressionistic, though lately it has moved towards surrealism, a technique that allows the unconscious to express itself. My abstract work is usually a planned composition, rational and calm, with the excitement coming from the tension between colours and shapes. I experiment with brushes, palette knives, sponges and even my fingers, and besides oil, acrylic and watercolour I like to use structure paste, gold leaf and collage, especially in my abstract work.
I want to keep expanding the experience of painting stories and bringing emotion into my work.
Exhibitions & recognition
Before the canvas
Two experts on my work
In her oeuvre of recent work, visual artist Mica Leiner explores the full range of figurative art making. Several distinct stylistic categories showcase her unique and diverse style. The range of her visual interpretation includes a personal adaptation of impressionism, atmospheric expressionism and a strong tendency towards abstraction, particularly evident in the colourful cityscapes and flower studies.
The series of iconic portraits reveals a fine sense of observation and portrayal of character, manifesting in a coherent study of personality. These aspects come to the fore successfully in the portraits of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.
The abstractions recall the contrasting chromatic scale of the Constructivists and the later twentieth-century colour field painters of the USA.
This selection of work illustrates a talented artist with a personal point of departure and skilful technical ability.
Louis Jansen van VuurenArtist and writer, with more than fifty exhibitions to his name; lecturer in art at the University of Cape Town from 1974 to 2000.I have admired Marica’s ability to paint, draw and be in command of shape, structure, colour and technique for many years. She was born to be creative and has always produced work of a very high and appealing aesthetic level. The words of Henri Matisse sum up her work and approach quite well: “An artist must never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.”
A feeling of emptiness and quietness recurs in a number of her works. The deserted, stranded “Fishing Boats Ashore” is the best example: its bareness and tranquil, mysterious atmosphere are captivating, almost alluring and enigmatic, and her sensitive brushwork enhances the sombre mood of the painting.
I find the reclining nude “Reminiscent” the most sensual piece. It reminds me of Modigliani’s calm, controlled shapes and surfaces, and of the simplicity of Matisse’s nudes. Some of her abstract paintings stand in direct contrast to this quietness: the movement they capture and radiate is both confusing and energetic.
The portraits reflect the nobility and dignity of their subjects as well as capturing their character. Both Gandhi and Mandela would be proud of her interpretations, which do them great justice in many ways.
Instead of confronting us, her work creates synergy and leaves us with a sense of completeness. As Pablo Picasso said, “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Her work does that, and it is timeless – very few artists achieve that in their lifetime.
Hansie VisagieHead of the art department at City Varsity, Cape Town, for fifteen years; earlier a part-time lecturer at the universities of Pretoria and Johannesburg; founder and artistic director of the Little Marionette Company.