Margot van Huijkelom has noticed that interest in female artists has grown in recent years. The Hague alone has several exhibitions dedicated to female talent in 2026, such as “Ongekend Talent” (Kunstmuseum), “Barbara van Houten” (The Mesdag Collection) and “Letizia Battaglia” (Fotomuseum). "The art directors realise this is necessary,” says the Venlo-born fashion designer and artist. “In recent decades, museum walls have been dominated by men, largely because most art was created by their hands. In older art especially, there is little work by female painters, simply because they had hardly any financial means in the past. There are exceptions, such as Maria van Oosterwijck or Alexine Tinne. Their wealthy background offered them opportunities for education and artistic ambition.”

Although the economic position of women has improved, Van Huijkelom sees that the art world is still dominated by established networks. “Without actively focusing on female artists, their contributions are at risk of being overlooked."

Vogue

The 59-year-old artist has lived and worked for years in Barbizon, the famous artists' village just under Paris, which is why we spoke to her by phone. Van Huijkelom talks the way she works: exuberantly and quickly. For 30 years, she travelled and worked all over the world, her fashion illustrations and paintings appeared in leading magazines, from Le Monde to Vogue. She now focuses her energy on a new challenge: the exhibition “Femmes Artistes”, on show this upcoming spring at the prestigious Paris Atelier Néerlandais, the Dutch embassy's platform for creators in the cultural sector.

Maria van Oosterwijck (1630-1693) - artist Margot van Huijkelom

Van Huijkelom’s opportunity to realise a major solo exhibition is indirectly owed to Natalia Logvinova Smalto, wife of Italian couturier Francesco Smalto, who passed away in 2015. This philanthropist founded the Fondation Signature in 2019, which supports innovative and multidisciplinary projects. Since 2021, the foundation has awarded the Prix Fabuleuse Signature, a prize recognising women who choose to live in France and pursue their artistic vocation there.

Jury

“Friso Wijnen, currently director of BredaPhoto, pointed out the existence of that prize to me. Incidentally, did you know he’s a Hagenaar? He was on the jury and was keen to nominate me. You can’t nominate yourself, you are asked by a member of the jury,” says Van Huijkelom. Together with the other five nominees, Van Huijkelom presented her project during an audition for the Prix Fabuleuse Signature jury: resilient Dutch female artists – from painters and writers to dancers and musicians – from the past and present, who pushed the boundaries of art and society.

Although the first prize of the Prix Fabuleuse Signature went to Japanese-Korean pianist Megumi Okuda, Van Huijkelom was approached by Ms Smalto herself after the award ceremony. “She said: ‘Your work touches me, we’re going to support you. We’ll provide exhibition space, a book and a grand opening.’ That felt just as rewarding as winning the first prize.”

Femmes Artistes

This support gave the go-ahead for the exhibition “Femmes Artistes”, in which Van Huijkelom honours these women. I purposefully choose artists from The Hague as well, “to show how rich The Hague's art tradition is, from the Golden Age to the present,” she says.

Alexine Tinne (1835-1869) - artist Margot van Huijkelom

For each portrait, Van Huijkelom selects the technique that best suits the artist's world and personality: sometimes aquarelle, sometimes charcoal, oil paint or another medium. She alternates large canvases with small drawings on Japanese paper, all intended to capture the gaze of the person portrayed and bring the viewer closer to her story. Each portrait is also accompanied by a work by the artist herself, on a pedestal or with a photograph and a label. For makers from the worlds of dance, film or music, Van Huijkelom sometimes adds videos or sound clips, making the encounter even more intense.

Thus, “Femmes Artistes” forms an ode to women in art. Their stories, captured in van Huijkeloms portraits, show that female talent always finds its way, across time and tradition. Although Paris is now the setting, she dreams of a touring exhibition. “And yes, why not actually in The Hague?”

‘Femmes Artistes’
Margot van Huijkelom
5 to 25 March 2026
Atelier Néerlandais, 22 avenue Victoria, 75001 Paris