Erik de Nei was born in the Netherlands in 1941. A draughtsman and printmaker working within the Dutch figurative tradition, his art is grounded in the human figure — rendered with the directness, precision, and economy that characterises the best of Dutch graphic art. There is no sentimentality in his work and no unnecessary elaboration, only form, line, and the quality of light.
His prints Three Graces (1976), Three Graces No Background, One Grace Walking, Grace in Shadow, Stones in Shadow(1975), and Water Square were all produced in collaboration with Fred Genis at his workshop at Oudkerk in Friesland, the Netherlands. The Three Graces series takes a subject with deep roots in European art history and strips it of mythological elaboration, presenting the figures with a plain, studied clarity. Stones in Shadow and Water Square extend his interest in the relationship between figure and environment, light and shadow giving structure to compositions of quiet, understated strength.
The Oudkerk workshop provided the ideal environment for work of this kind — unhurried, craft-focused, and rooted in the long European tradition of artist and printer working in close collaboration at the stone.
