• 1999 – 2003 – Sirens & Leda – The early beginnings of her career and floral still lives

• 2005 – 2009 – Get Drunk & Amor Omnia Vincit & Bloody Hell  A deeply personal period surrounding her open-heart surgery

• 2010 – 2013 – Come to me & This gives life to me The time of her mother’s passing and the transition to digital photography

• 2014 – 2016 – It shines it whispers & when the hurly-burly’s done – Her inspiring move and journey to Indonesia

• 2017 – 2020 – Life size nature – The start of her work with biological flowers and use of more different flowers

• 2020 – 2024 – Rococo & Secret Garden – A celebration of life and 25 years as a still life photographer

The central subject in Smulders’ photos are flowers. Margriet, who is named after a flower herself, has been fascinated by flowers and plants since childhood. These are always present in her art; sometimes incorporated as an element in a performance or space, sometimes – as in the works exhibited here – in all their glory. For the artist, flowers symbolize the course of life and the beauty of existence.

The flowers in Smulders’ work have another meaning. She makes her photos and series from a strong feminist perspective. From the Family / Maternité series from the period 1987-1995 to the photo series Uit de cocoon (1999) made in India for ICCO and WORK (1998) commissioned by Randstad, reflection on the position of women is central. This perspective is also present in her recent work. Initially, Smulders depicted abstracted feminine forms in her photographic flower still lifes with the flowers themselves. Over the years, this reference has become less direct and femininity lies mainly in the beauty, sensuality and fragility of the flower.

Smulders’ work can also be placed within a long tradition that uses flowers as a subject. In the seventeenth century, a period from which Smulders draws a lot of inspiration, the flower still life flourished as a popular theme in painting. Examples include the beautiful flower still lifes by Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750) and her younger sister Anna Ruysch (1666–1754). There are also more recent examples in painting, such as the flower paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986)[1] and the role that flowers play in the paintings of Shani Rhys James (1953)[2].

[1] Leeron Hoory, Female Artists and Floral Paintings: An Enduring Legacy (2017); Kitty Jackson, The Symbolism of Flowers in the Art of Georgia O’Keeffe (2019).

[2] Ruth Millington, Shani Rhys James: studio selfies and feminist flowers (2020).