Marleen Sleeuwits
Marleen Sleeuwits is a Dutch multidisciplinary artist working in photography, sculpture, and installation. Based in The Hague, her art aims to challenge perceptions of scale, perspective and spatial reality. Her work is characterised by what she terms the "peau des villes" concept, exploring how humans relate to built environments through temporary interventions in vacant spaces. Her work engages with architectural spaces and the built environment, often involving temporary interventions in vacant or unused locations.
Sleeuwits has exhibited internationally with solo shows at institutions such as Fotomuseum Den Haag, Kunsthal, and the Centre Photographique Rouen Normandie. Her work is held in collections including Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Valkhof Museum and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She was recognized as FOAM Talent in 2012 and won the Meijburg Art Commission in 2019.
Early life and education
Sleeuwits was born on 23 June 1980 in Enschede, Netherlands.At the age of 14, she took a photography course at a local community centre, sparking her interest in photography.
She studied photography at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, earning her bachelor's degree in 2001. She then completed a master's degree in Photography at AKV St. Joost in Breda in 2005.
Work
In her early career, Sleeuwits focused on photographing architectural spaces and urban environments. Her artistic practice evolved from photographing spaces to physically intervening in them, and she began constructing her own spaces. She was interested in exploring what she describes as "impersonal environments" —vacant spaces such as empty office buildings, unused shopping centres, and abandoned institutional buildings that became available during economic downturns, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis.Sleeuwits's work has been described as abstract and conceptual. She integrates photography with sculpture and installations to alter spaces and create a sense of disorientation for the viewer. Her core themes explore the borderland between two-dimensional and three-dimensional art, the transformation of everyday spaces, and the use of optical illusions and the manipulation of perspective.
Sleeuwit often incorporates common architectural elements, such as ceiling panels, insulation, and fluorescent lighting. Many of her installations are interactive, allowing viewers to navigate through the structures. Drawing inspiration from ordinary environments such as sports fields or changing rooms, Her work often evokes a sense of alienation in these familiar spaces.
Sleeuwit's work for her 2021 solo exhibition Isomatrix at Kunsthal in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, explored the boundary between fiction and reality using materials such as neon lights, foil, photographic prints, and mirrors to manipulate perspective, reflection, and scale within architectural spaces. In her solo exhibition, Enter the Cube in 2025 at the Fotomuseum Den Haag, Sleeuwits created a site-specific installation in dialogue with the work of Sol LeWitt. Another solo exhibition, Re-Surface was held at Galerie Bart in Amsterdam the same year during the Amsterdam Art Week focusing on the exploration of everyday interiors and their often unnoticed aesthetics.
Sleeuwit's first major monograph, On the Soft Edge of Space, was published in 2016. It featured 200 images across 276 pages with essays by Edo Dijksterhuis, Basje Boer, and Freek Lomme. De Volkskrant selected the publication as one of the best Dutch photography books of 2016.
Personal life
Sleeuwits lives and works in The Hague, Netherlands.Exhibitions
Sleeuwits has been represented by Galerie Bart in Amsterdam since 2019 and by Sous Les Etoiles Gallery in New York City. Previous representation included LhGWR Gallery in The Hague and FeldbuschWiesnerRudolph in Berlin.| Year | Title | Institution | Location | Ref |
| 2005 | Fotofestival Breda | Breda | ||
| 2019 | Centre Photographique Rouen Normandie | France | ||
| 2021 | Isomatrix | Kunsthal Light #24 program, Kunsthal Rotterdam | Rotterdam | |
| 2023 –2024 | IN SITU | Centre Photographique Rouen Normandie | France | |
| 2025 | Ongoing Series of False Ceilings | The Palace of Justice | The Hague | |
| 2025 | Re-Surface | Galerie Bart | Amsterdam | |
| 2025 | Enter the Cube | Fotomuseum Den Haag | The Hague |
Awards and recognition
- 2022: Kunstenaar Basis grant
- 2021: Prix de Rome - Netherlands' art award for artists under 35.
- 2019: Meijburg Art Commission - an award to make a site-specific work for KPMG Meijburg & Co offices, for which she made Interior no. 52 for KPMG Meijburg & Co's Amstelveen office. The work features dynamic lighting cycles and explores the boundaries between two and three-dimensional space.
- 2013: Prix de Rome - Netherlands' art award for artists under 35.
- 2013: International Festival of Fashion and Photography, Hyères, France
- 2012: Foam Talent, Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam - annual recognition program for emerging photographers.
Collections
Museum collections
- Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
- Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen
Corporate collections
- AkzoNobel Art Collection
- KPMGMeijburg & Co.
- ING Group
- NN Group
- Erasmus University Rotterdam
- De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
International Collections
- Schloss Kummerow Photographic Collection