Etel Adnan often took landscape as a starting point for her art. Like Van Gogh, she sought to convey the power of nature on the canvas with a colour palette and painting style all of her own. Adnan felt, just like Vincent once again, that her paintings bridge the limitations of language. She found a visual idiom in her art that transcends cultural boundaries.


The emphasis in Colour as Language is on Adnan's paintings. Her landscapes - frequently simplified and with intense colours and abstract forms - enter a dialogue with several works by Van Gogh. The exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam this title accompanies also includes her leporello works, the concertina-style books for which Adnan is known, as well as tapestries and literature.


Adnan's unique life story features too. She moved between different cultures and languages for the best part of a century. The implications of growing up with a multicultural background are explored: how did it shape her life and resonate in her art?


Text in English and Dutch.