Although she was born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium, Eva Claessens is more like a citizen of the world. After living in several European countries, Israel, India, Jamaica, Chicago and Uruguay, and more than three decades of exhibitions and commissions, her work has transcended borders in an unexpected way.
“Since I was little I fell in love with drawing, it was all I wanted to do. At six or seven, I told my parents that when I grew up, I wanted to be an artist, that I was going to go to Italy to paint.The total assurance that this was my path came at age 8 and I still remember the feeling, the absolute certainty that overwhelmed me.”
At 18 Eva won a full scholarship at the Perugia School of Fine Arts.
The most frequent description of her work is that of a contemporary artist with a passion for light, life, feelings and the beauty of a moment, exploring the human figure. Eva captures emotions, sensations and instants of everyday life.
“I think that my work is more to feel than to define, it is not intellectual. That is why I like to give it the appearance that it is not finished, like life itself, and with the idea that the individual can conclude the piece with his eyes.”
This is the reason why she presents her paintings without framing.
Eva works mainly with acrylic paint on various structures, sculpture in third dimension, hand made prints and ceramics.
“There is a deep investigation around each piece. I always paint from real models.”
Eva currently divides her time between several countries.
