Janise Yntema

Janise Yntema’s practice is focused on the ancient painting technique of beeswax encaustic. For over 25 years Yntema has refined her use of this material and has become widely known for her work in this technique. In the past she has worked with marble dust, aluminium, iron powder and wood, but she has found a subtlety rarely found in artificial materials in her use of wax. Her paintings are created from numerous applications of translucent pigmented wax, fused together with a blowtorch to create a smooth and glossy skin-like surface. With her recent inclusion of original photography in her works, she has brought a contemporary platform to this historic medium, obscuring the boundary between photography and painting. 

Continually intrigued by the fine line between figuration and abstraction, Yntema’s works merge the digital with the ancient. Yntema alters the ‘truth’ of painting, questioning how reality is located when the manipulated and objective are combined. Her beautifully tranquil pieces have a sense of silent simplicity, creating an atmosphere of transcendent lightness. Human presence is minimised while the inherent beauty of nature is foregrounded. 

‘With her affinity for the land and attraction towards the spiritual, Yntema's paintings embrace the primal and unseen found both in the world that surrounds and within.  Sharing within the romantic tradition, her works rest firmly within the realm of the sublime.'