Let Her Name Be Heard

The exhibition “Unheard, Collected Women” at the Gouda Museum, covering six centuries of history through the eyes of women from their collection, ended with a beautiful work by Elise 't Hart, “Let Her Name Be Heard.” 

Visitors were invited to write the name of their favorite artist, or of any other woman who plays an important role in their lives, on a metal chime and hang it in the work. By setting the work in motion all the names together form an instrument of women who deserve to be heard.

Performing this simple act felt like a fitting way to conclude this blog. I have tried to show what makes Marlies and her work so special and to draw more attention to her work.

In 2027, we will conclude the project with an exhibition in Breda. Once the details are known, I will of course mention them here. See you then! 

Let Her Name Be Heard, March 10, 2026, Gouda

Elise 't Hart

A duo exhibition with Geer Pouls 5.

 Marlies and Geer at work in 1986. Photos courtesy of Geer Pouls.

A group exhibition at Geer Pouls' gallery in 1986 2.

The title of the 1986 group exhibition that included an entire wall of Marlies' Designs for Large Vases was KERAMIEK.

I asked Geer Pouls if he still had photos of that Marlies wall.

After checking his archives it turned out that no photos were taken.

Geer did dig up the invitation card, though, and he sent me a folder with more great stuff from his archives. A wonderful gift which I will pass on to the Stedelijk Museum Breda. 

The only names I knew were Annerie Teuling and Rob Brandt. I had to look up the rest. Johanna Schweizer apparently was known in Breda as the local Louise Bourgeois. Hopefully that was a joke.

  

 

A group exhibition at Geer Pouls' gallery in 1986 1.

I found a review by Lia Roose of a group exhibition featuring Marlies and four other ceramists at Geer Pouls' gallery in 1986. The other artists were Rob Brandt, Johanna Schweizer, Sjoera Siebers, and Annerie Teuling. 

Although it is only a short review, it is an important one because we now know that Marlies originally displayed the works from our box on a wall. 

Marlies van Wijk filled an entire wall with what she calls ‘designs for large vases’. These are rather crudely molded bowls and vases in soft colors, dollhouse-sized.  They are amusing and, from an economic point of view, a great find, but rather difficult to take seriously as designs because of the rough execution.

De Stem 2 oktober 1986 p. 21

De Stem 2 oktober 1986 p. 21

Self-portrait

Looking at this bowl from the back, we suddenly see Marlies herself. 

While each piece in the box reveals something personal about her, this is my favorite because it is so typical of who she is. She is there, but you have to look closely to see her.

De Beeldenaar 2: Teun Hocks

With Teun Hocks, it was always playtime. You could let out all your energy with him and he wouldn't pay any attention. He was very entertaining and always enjoyed what we were saying and trying to create. 

The highlight of the lessons was making the annual cartoon. Teun would film every sheet we finished with a camera positioned in the middle of the classroom. 

At the end of the year, we watched the film together —that was a moment I'll never forget. It was something you had created with him and the rest of the group. It felt very special:

De Beeldenaar 1: Akke Sins

At the Beeldenaar art school for kids, Saturday mornings were organized so that you changed teachers and subjects every month. 

Besides Marlies, I took classes with Teun Hocks (a cool guy) for drawing, painting, and animation, and with Akke Sins for printmaking. 

Akke Sins was a striking, tall woman who was always calm and focused (something new to me). 

I remember that everyone in her class always tried to please her by creating beautiful things. A lovely woman, with a great gift for teaching. 

She owned a house in Oostende, which was very bohemian then. 

I am still very grateful for her lessons and for teaching me how to concentrate. 

When my mother was sorting out her old mail a few years ago, we found at least ten hand-made new year cards (woodprints, linocuts) adressed to my parents and to all the Jasjes (there are six of us).   

I just found a wonderful interview with her that includes this great photo of her with her dogs. She is 96 now.

Akke Sins 

In 1961 Akke designed my birth announcement card, which is very typical of her style: