Marcelle Hanselaar

Represented by Julian Page since 2011, Marcelle Hanselaar (b. 1945, Rotterdam) is a Dutch-born, London-based painter and printmaker whose work occupies a distinctive position within contemporary figurative art. Largely self-taught, she briefly attended the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague before abandoning formal academic training in favour of extensive travel and experiential learning. This early rejection of institutional orthodoxy became foundational to her practice, which consistently resists stylistic categorisation while probing the psychological tensions between instinct, fantasy, and social constraint.

Settling in London in the early 1980s, Hanselaar developed a highly individual visual language characterised by visceral figuration, theatrical composition, and a darkly ironic sensibility. Initially working in abstraction, she transitioned toward figuration in the early 1990s, a shift that coincided with her increasing engagement with narrative, myth, and the subconscious. Her paintings and etchings frequently depict hybrid human-animal forms, staging ambiguous, often unsettling scenarios in which sexuality, vulnerability, and aggression coexist. Influences frequently cited in relation to her work include Max Beckmann, Otto Dix and Francisco Goya, situating her within a broader lineage of psychologically charged figurative practice.

A central figure in the dissemination of Hanselaar’s work has been Julian Page, whose gallery and curatorial projects have consistently presented her alongside major modern and contemporary artists. Through Julian Page Projects and earlier iterations such as Julian Page Fine Art, Hanselaar has been exhibited in dialogue with figures including Frank Auerbach, David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Richard Hamilton, Bridget Riley, William Kentridge and Paula Rego. This positioning underscores both the seriousness of her practice and its resonance within a wider art-historical framework. Hanselaar’s work has also been presented by Julian Page at major events such as the British Art Fair and the London Original Print Fair, reinforcing her presence within key institutional and commercial circuits.

Hanselaar has exhibited widely across the United Kingdom and internationally. Institutional presentations include Aberystwyth School of Art Museum and Galleries, Museum de Reede, and Museum on the Seam, where her major print cycle The Crying Game was shown. Additional exhibitions and projects have taken place at Kings Place Gallery, Herrick Gallery, 12 Star Gallery, and Brun Fine Art, often in collaboration with Julian Page.

Her work has also been included in curated institutional contexts such as displays at Dulwich Picture Gallery and exhibitions at the Fitzwilliam Museum, where her prints have been shown alongside historical works addressing violence and representation. These presentations highlight the art-historical depth of her practice and its engagement with enduring themes of trauma, morality, and human behaviour.

Hanselaar’s works are held in numerous major public collections, further affirming her institutional recognition. In the United Kingdom, these include the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum (including both the Prints & Drawings Collection and the National Art Library), the Ashmolean Museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery, and the Pallant House Gallery. International holdings include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smith College Museum of Art, the Swarthmore College, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and the Guangdong Museum of Art, among others.

Alongside her exhibition career, Hanselaar has contributed to art education and discourse, teaching at institutions such as Sotheby’s Institute of Art and working in printmaking studios including Morley College and Kensington and Chelsea College. Her involvement in events such as the Jackson’s Painting Prize, where she served as an expert judge, further reflects her standing within the contemporary art community.

Despite her extensive exhibition history and presence in major museum collections, Hanselaar has often been described as an under-recognised figure within contemporary art discourse. Her work’s refusal to conform—both aesthetically and thematically—has positioned it at a critical distance from dominant market trends. Yet it is precisely this independence, coupled with sustained advocacy from figures such as Julian Page, that has ensured her continued visibility and critical relevance.

Marcelle Hanselaar’s practice ultimately bridges the personal and the universal, the grotesque and the poetic. Through a body of work that engages deeply with myth, psychology, and the human condition, she has established a singular voice within contemporary art—one that is increasingly acknowledged within both institutional and curatorial frameworks.