Madeleine Berkhemer

Madeleine Berkhemer’s monograph is an initiative of the Madeleine Berkhemer Foundation, the book is published by nai010 publishers Rotterdam. Art has to tease, please and seduce and is allowed to make the viewer feel uncomfortable. Anything goes, as long as it does not leave people unmoved. Rotterdam based artist Madeleine Berkhemer (1973-2019) considered sensuality and eroticism to be fundamental parts of life. She used various art forms and techniques to explore the power of the female body and the way it evokes both desire and discomfort. Berkhemer made drawings, collages, (stocking) sculptures, installations and performances often using her own body.

> The feminine universe of Madeleine Berkhemer

> First summarizing overview of her varied oeuvre

> Investigation into the power of the (female) body



After training as a fashion designer, Berkhemer soon decided to focus entirely on art. The physical aspect of fashion and the glamour surrounding continued to play an important role in her sensual and theatrical work, which was based on the body, role-playing and beauty. Numerous collaborations with famous photographers and (fashion) designers complete the collage-like coherence of Berkhemer’s highly varied oeuvre. This richly illustrated book is the first overview of her work.

Madeleine Berkhemer book
ISBN 978-94-6208-827-6 | November 2023 | Esmee Postma | design: Kummer en Herrman | Dutch, English, French | hardcover | 24 x 30 cm | 248 pages | illustrated (200 full color) | in conjunction with: Madeleine Berkhemer Foundation | with support from: CBK Rotterdam, Stichting Droom en Daad, Gemeente Rotterdam, De Gijselaar-Hintzenfonds, Gravin van Bylandt Stichting, Hendrik Muller fonds, Jaap Harten Fonds, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Volkskracht, Willem de Kooning Academie, Vrienden van Madeleine Berkhemer Foundation.
You can order your book here.

Madeleine Berkhemer Foundation
Dutch artist Madeleine Berkhemer has produced and exhibited extensively in her career. Countless people have crossed her path and she has shared her views and ideas in many forms. During her illness, Madeleine Berkhemer set up a foundation to manage her legacy. On September 10 2019, the foundation papers were signed in the presence of a notary and the objectives of the Madeleine Berkhemer Foundation were confirmed: promoting and protecting the art collection and oeuvre of Madeleine Berkhemer.

Madeleine Berkhemer & Virtual Shoe Museum
Liza Snook: I feel very fortunate that Madeleine’s amazing shoes have been part of two shoe exhibitions.’ Her sculpture ‘Fruitbowl’ and collage ‘Exciting Old Directions II No. 7’ were part of ‘Starker Auftritt!/Stepping into the Limelight’, an experimental shoe exhibition at the GRASSI Museum für Angewandte Kunst of Applied Arts in Leipzig, Germany in 2013.

And her steel high heels room divider ‘Legshow’ (thanks to MAM Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art gallery in Vienna) and her hyperrealistic ‘Legs’ wearing Christian Louboutin shoes, were part of the shoe exhibition ‘SHOEting Stars 5 Sinne & Mehr’ at the Stadtgalerie in Klagenfurt, Austria in 2015. An unique exhibition for people who wanted to use all their senses to experience shoes. Not only the five common ones, but also the sixth sense, a more mysterious one, looking in the past and in the future.

Madeleine Berkhemer’s shoe works at the Virtual Shoe Museum.