Opening the Studio Archive

Jun 7, 2026

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door

Leonoor Ruigrok

in Series & Stories, Studio & Process

Some works stay in the studio for a long time.

Not because I have forgotten them. They have remained part of my practice, even while stored away.

“Wrapped, protected, moved around”

Leaning against a wall. In a folder. Wrapped in bubble wrap.

Behind another work. Or in one of those places where I think: I really need to do something with that. And then I walk past it for another three months.

That happens in a studio.

Part of my Icelandic Houses series has stayed with me in that way. Wrapped, protected, moved around, looked at again, stored again. Not because it was not good enough, but because I did not yet know what needed to happen with it.

Now I am looking again.

The First Opening

Opening wrapped work is always a bit of a situation.

Tape that refuses to let go. Corners that need careful hands. Paper that catches on everything. Glass that, of course, immediately gets a fingerprint on it. And meanwhile I am trying to stay calm, while actually I just want to see: what happens when this work appears again?

blue barn painting detail prepared for Kunstschouw Zeeland exhibition Leonoor Ruigrok - Icelandic Houses studio archive

Because that is the interesting moment.

When a work has been out of sight for a while, I see it differently. Not better or worse. Just with different eyes.

Some works are quieter than I remembered. Others suddenly have more strength. Sometimes a detail catches me that I did not see before: a line, a stain, an edge, a little house holding its ground in far too much space.

Icelandic Houses and That Small House in Far Too Much Landscape

The Icelandic Houses works came from my travels through Iceland.

What touched me there was not only the landscape itself. Of course, it was vast. Raw. Windy. Sometimes almost ridiculously beautiful. But above all, those small houses in that enormous landscape stayed with me.

They seemed vulnerable.

And at the same time I thought: no, wait. They are standing there. Against wind, stone, sky, distance. Small, but not pathetic. More stubborn. Present.

Symbolic Mixed media landscape artwork by Leonoor Ruigrok from artseries: Icelandic Houses. Title: Evening view. Art process inspired by nature

That image stuck.

In the studio, those impressions became paintings, mixed media works and studies.

Why I Do Not Want to Open the Archive All at Once

I do not want to open the studio archive all at once.

That does not fit.

It would quickly start to feel like a big clear-out, and that is not what I want. I am not emptying boxes because I need more space. Although, practically speaking, that would sometimes not be a bad idea. But artistically, that is not what this is.

I want to see what still has strength. What still says something. What perhaps fits better now than it did then. And also: what I am ready to let go of.

That last part is just as important.

Some works still need to stay. Others I am ready to let go of. Not as “leftover work”, but as part of my practice.