Linde Leijh Explores Landscape, Memory, and Longing
New Exhibition at Villa Mondriaan
What place do you long for? A place you’ve been to before, one you’d love to return to, or one that exists mainly in your memory? For artist Linde Leijh, places are more than just landscapes. They can evoke memories, hold onto feelings, and change over time. Starting Sunday, November 1, 2026, Museum Villa Mondriaan will present the solo exhibition Linde Leijh – Space of Longing. Leijh won the Achterhoek Art Prize in 2025. The exhibition runs through May 2, 2027.
In her work, Linde Leijh explores what a landscape or a place does to us. A place can become part of a memory. Over time, that memory can change. As a result, a place can sometimes become more beautiful in our minds than it was in reality. Her work, therefore, is not only about the longing for a specific place. It is also about the longing for a feeling, a moment, or a particular atmosphere.
Beauty, romance, light, and tranquility are key themes in her work. Painting forms the foundation of her practice. Using a limited color palette and thin layers of oil paint, Leijh slowly builds up her paintings. Light and subtle variations in color give the paintings their atmosphere and sense of space. Her images are serene and invite the viewer to linger.
In addition to paintings, Leijh also creates works in wood, photography, and other media.
Through these various forms, she continually explores the same questions: What effect does a place have on you? Which memories linger? And how does the way you view a place change?
With *Space of Desire*, Villa Mondriaan provides a platform for an artist from the Achterhoek region. The exhibition shows how a personal perspective on landscape and memory can be translated into various forms of visual art. At the same time, the work invites visitors to reflect on their own memories and the places to which they feel connected.
Linde Leijh – *Space of Desire* will be on view from Sunday, November 1, 2026, through Sunday, May 2, 2027, at Museum Villa Mondriaan in Winterswijk.
Foto – Linde Leijh
