Biography
Rural Bornem is the home of the Belgian-Zimbabwean painter Molly Winckelmans. In Zimbabwe she was a sensation in the 1990s under the name Maureen Molly Phiri because she was the first female artist who dared to break with typical figurative painting. Realistic village scenes were not for her, much to the chagrin of some of her teachers who wanted to push their students into a certain style. Fortunately, through her hard work and perseverance, she had secured a scholarship at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe where a more progressive wind was blowing. She would develop her own modern style inspired by the highly appreciated Zimbabwean sculpture that has increasingly gained international popularity since the 1970s. She experimented and worked 7 days a week to achieve this goal. The result was immediate. She won 7 awards and was a popular guest at national events. Two of her works were purchased by the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe to become part of its permanent collection. An honor that usually went to the older, more established values of the Zimbabwean art scene. Ultimately, love brought her to Belgium where she had to start again from scratch. She was mainly known in Southern Africa, among embassies and art-loving expats. Could her style ever catch on in Europe was a question that haunted her mind every day. Being an artist through and through, she continued to first charm the residents of Bornem with her artistic expressions. After Bornem, Klein-Brabant followed and eventually all of Flanders. In all provinces of Flanders there is a living space where a 'Molly' gives an extra dimension to the interior. Her color palette ensures that even the darkest day gets a touch of sunshine. She has had her own gallery in Bornem for 13 years. First a converted living room, but since 8 years a small but interesting gallery with all the trimmings. Her works are very unique because she succeeds in uniting painting and sculpture on canvas in a striking, sometimes even rough escalation of shapes and colors in which the woman, the mother, is central. Her flamboyant and consistently positive personality alone is worth a visit to her gallery. She regularly manages to appeal to people who are not really 'into art' with her very accessible and attractive art.
