The phone is ringing red today at the Groninger Silver Room in Appingedam. The exhibition is here until August 25 Maya Wildefire exposes herself to see. Today there was extra interest in it. This morning it was announced that Maya Wildevuur passed away last night at the age of 78.
Wildevuur chose the title of the exhibition herself, because she felt it gave an insight into her life. Herma Grimius initiated the exhibition. “I knew her through mutual friends. She sometimes came to the Groningen Silver Room. She asked how I managed to keep my silver so clean. Then I offered to visit her with a bunch of volunteers and polish her silver swing, but then I asked her if I could organize an exhibition in the Groninger Silver Room with her art and personal items. And that’s how it came about.”
The reactions are very positive. “People are especially surprised about the diversity of her work. She is much more than the woman with the flowers. She made watercolours, portraits of people from India.”
Her own coffin, which Wildevuur made years ago, was also there until this morning. As well as clothing, hairpieces, flowers, benches and many works of art.
Grimius was friends with her. “She was open-hearted, very friendly, hospitable. In fact, everything a person should have was in her. She was a very sweet friend with a big heart.”
Artist Hans Zabel often worked with her in the 1980s. “At the time, I had made an exhibition with floating images when I met Maya. We both had a child at the Waldorf school in Emmen, so that also created a bond. Together with Adri de Fluiter, we then agreed to work with images to go.”
According to Zabel, Wildevuur has made an important contribution to the art world by setting up a sculpture garden. “That had not been seen anywhere in the Netherlands. The estate had everything it needed to develop further and she was able to use that wonderfully. Maya was the epitome of initiative, having guts and going for it. Maya has brought color to Drenthe.”
Zabel thought she had a special personality. “Maya was initially a very modest girl, but through her relationship with Jan de Gans she was able to grow in her strength. She is from 1944 and that is the year of the monkey. That is a fire element. That fiery was also in her colors . She had a charm and won over many people. She was a wayward aunt. A flamboyant bitch.”
Wildevuur also stimulated him in his work. “She activated me in a certain way. Working with her gave an extra dimension. I learned a lot from her about designing space. That inspired me. I received another painting with silk from her in 1989. As a thank you for something. There’s an ’embrasse’ on it.”
Harry Tupan, director of the Drents Museum, describes her as a unique artist. “The primary objective of her work was color and she incorporated that into whole floral works of art. She has developed excellently over the years. She has always kept her own path and created her own style. Especially her works of art made of silk really stood out for me. We also have one of those in our collection.”
Tupan regularly encountered Wildevuur over the years. “She was a frequent visitor to our exhibitions. The last time I saw her was at the Frida Khalo exhibition. That was an exhibition that really grabbed her, because she had many similarities with Kahlo in her appearance. She had, for example, like Frida, she wore the same hair and the same floral dress. She was a flamboyant and extraordinary artist.”