Judy van Luyk works en lives in Rotterdam. She studied FineArt (BA) at the Willem de Kooning Academie (1995 -1999) and specialized in site-specific art (MA) at the Art Academie HEAD in Genève (2004-2006). 

She focuses on interventions in public space and has realised various works of art in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Germany. Van Luyk is based in Rotterdam and works occasionally in Dresden. She is a member of the artist group If Paradise Is Half As Nice.

Artist statement

Her work explores themes such as social inequality, the housing crisis, labour, gentrification, and the visible and invisible power structures present in social and societal contexts. She creates installations, video performances and interventions that often arise from physical actions such as breaking, drilling, climbing or digging. Through these gestures, she raises questions about power, labour, and the value of objects, spaces and systems. These actions are forceful and direct, yet always carefully constructed — a means of confronting, revealing and questioning. Think of works in which walls are pierced or demolished in response to demolition policies (Time’s Up, Demolition is not a Must), or performances in which the climbing of staircases, becomes an ode to forgotten labour (In Praise of Labour).

For Van Luyk, public space is not merely a backdrop, but an active site of work. Her installations and performances are often temporary and resonate with the specific social or political context of a location. At the same time, her practice also engages with institutional spaces, allowing it to move between the street and the gallery, between gesture and meaning. Her work is physically demanding, confrontational, and methodically constructed.

Through film, animation and installation, she explores the tension between action and reflection, between vulnerability and strength. Her practice is visually direct, aesthetically precise and conceptually layered — an invitation to reflect, confront and empathise.

judyvanluyk@gmail.com

Galerie Franzis Engels https://www.franzisengels.nl

Profile: Site specific- project based - social engagement - video performances - video animations - installations