Mariska Karto

Joined Artfinder: March 2025

Artworks for sale: 35

Netherlands

About Mariska Karto

 
 
  • Biography

    I was born in Suriname, South America, and carry a rich cultural heritage within me: Surinamese, Indonesian, African, and a touch of Dutch. I grew up in the Netherlands, surrounded by the legacy of the old Dutch masters — in a land where Vermeer and Rembrandt are never far from sight.

    An assignment for a perfume brand once took me to Venice. There, I was deeply moved by the baroque art, architecture, and layered history of the city. That experience stirred something profound in me and became a lasting source of inspiration that still shapes my artistic vision today.

    My creative process is carefully crafted and deeply multidisciplinary. I build my sets with great attention to detail, incorporating my other artistic passions: charcoal drawing, working with gold, textiles, and advanced photo manipulation. Every piece I create brings all these elements together into one cohesive expression.

    I photograph human figures, men and women but mainly women — powerful, glamorous, mysterious figures who exist in dreamlike, emotive worlds. They often appear unaware of their surroundings, yet they radiate a quiet, irresistible dominance. 

    My work is sensual and poetic, blending fantasy with the emotional sensitivity of the old masters, while remaining rooted in the present.

    After many years, I returned to my birth country. I traveled deep into the Amazon Rainforest, reconnecting with my native land, its raw beauty, and the overwhelming force of nature. That journey awakened a new path in my work — one that explores the relationship between self and the connection between landscape. But most of all, the love for nature.

    My work moves between contrasts: energy and stillness, strength and sensitivity. Color, form, and atmosphere are the threads that tie everything together. Life has taught me that I need both — the intensity and the calm — to create balance in my art and within myself.

  • Links
  • Awards

    2025

    IPA, PX3, Triestenberg and more

    2025 – AWARDED THE TITLE “HONORABLE MENTION” IN THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2025 – WORK: ALLEGORIE OF TIME
    2025 – AWARDED THE TITLE “OFFICIAL SELECTION” IN THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2025
    2016 – PX3 FIRST PLACE PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS/ GOLD AWARD, IN COMPLETE CATEGORY PROFESSIONALS FINE ART WITH MY CONTEMPORARY FRESCO’S. PX3 SPECIAL EXHIBITION IN PARIS ON JULY
    2016 – NOMINATED AS AMBASSADOR OF TOLERANCE / PALEIS VAN DE VERDRAAGZAAMHEID – NETHERLANDS
    2016 – PX3 SILVER AWARD PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS/ BLACK PEARL OF THE PROJECT BAROQUE DIVERSITY
    2016 – PX3 PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS/ HONORABLE MENTION – THE HAPPY PIL
    2016 – INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS / HONORABLE MENTION FOR THE SERIE BAROQUE DIVERSITY
    2014 – GOLD AWARD (EMOTIONS) FOR WORK “INTENSE” IN THE TRIERENBERG SUPER CIRCUIT
    2013 – PX3 PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS /FINE ART
    SILVER AWARD – FRESCO THE FALLEN
    BRONZEN AWARD – EXCESSION
    2012- INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD
  • Upcoming Events

    Upcoming events

    Event: My exhibitions

    Dates: 1 Jan 2022 - 3 Jan 2026

    Venue: Pulchri Studio, Lange Voorhout 15, 2514 EL Den Haag, Paesi Bassi

    -3TH DECEMBER 2025 – JANUARY 2026, EXHIBITION BEING A WOMAN, PULCHRI GALERIE, THE HAGUE – NETHERLANDS
    -3TH OCTOBER TILL 28TH DECEMBER 2025 – PHOTOFESTIVAL ITALY SICILIË
    MED FOTOFESTIVAL 2025 HET FOTOARCHIEF VAN DE MEDITERRANEUM COLLECTIE XVI INTERNATIONALE EDITIE, VAN 3 OKTOBER TOT 28 DECEMBER 2025 CATANIA, CALTAGIRONE, SYRACUSE, VIZZINI EN ANDERE PLAATSEN IN OOST-SICILIË
    -FROM 17 MAY TILL 15TH JUNE 2025: VOORJAARSSALON THE HAGUE / PULCHRI GALERIE
    -EXPOSITIE KLEINE MATEN – PULCHRI GALERIE FEBRUARI 2025
    -PULCHRI: VIDEO ART – SCREENTIME #9 / MY VIDEO ANIMATION EUROPE – AUGUST 3 / NOVEMBER 3 2024
    -PULCHRI STUDIO/ APRIL 2024- SALON
    -MICKS ART GALLERY EMMEN, THE NETHERLANDS – OKTOBER 2023/ JANUARI 2024
    -EXHIBITION NEW MEMBERS – PULCHRI STUDIO / JULI 2023
    -VOORJAARSSALON EN JACOB HARTOGPRIJS: PULCHRI STUDIO/ APRIL 2023
    -KLEINE FORMAAT TENTOONSTELLING – PULCHRI STUDIO DEN HAAG / FEBRUARI – MEI 2023

Links


Awards

2025

IPA, PX3, Triestenberg and more

2025 – AWARDED THE TITLE “HONORABLE MENTION” IN THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2025 – WORK: ALLEGORIE OF TIME
2025 – AWARDED THE TITLE “OFFICIAL SELECTION” IN THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2025
2016 – PX3 FIRST PLACE PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS/ GOLD AWARD, IN COMPLETE CATEGORY PROFESSIONALS FINE ART WITH MY CONTEMPORARY FRESCO’S. PX3 SPECIAL EXHIBITION IN PARIS ON JULY
2016 – NOMINATED AS AMBASSADOR OF TOLERANCE / PALEIS VAN DE VERDRAAGZAAMHEID – NETHERLANDS
2016 – PX3 SILVER AWARD PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS/ BLACK PEARL OF THE PROJECT BAROQUE DIVERSITY
2016 – PX3 PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS/ HONORABLE MENTION – THE HAPPY PIL
2016 – INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS / HONORABLE MENTION FOR THE SERIE BAROQUE DIVERSITY
2014 – GOLD AWARD (EMOTIONS) FOR WORK “INTENSE” IN THE TRIERENBERG SUPER CIRCUIT
2013 – PX3 PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS /FINE ART
SILVER AWARD – FRESCO THE FALLEN
BRONZEN AWARD – EXCESSION
2012- INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD

Upcoming events

Event: My exhibitions

Dates: 1 Jan 2022 - 3 Jan 2026

Venue: Pulchri Studio, Lange Voorhout 15, 2514 EL Den Haag, Paesi Bassi

-3TH DECEMBER 2025 – JANUARY 2026, EXHIBITION BEING A WOMAN, PULCHRI GALERIE, THE HAGUE – NETHERLANDS
-3TH OCTOBER TILL 28TH DECEMBER 2025 – PHOTOFESTIVAL ITALY SICILIË
MED FOTOFESTIVAL 2025 HET FOTOARCHIEF VAN DE MEDITERRANEUM COLLECTIE XVI INTERNATIONALE EDITIE, VAN 3 OKTOBER TOT 28 DECEMBER 2025 CATANIA, CALTAGIRONE, SYRACUSE, VIZZINI EN ANDERE PLAATSEN IN OOST-SICILIË
-FROM 17 MAY TILL 15TH JUNE 2025: VOORJAARSSALON THE HAGUE / PULCHRI GALERIE
-EXPOSITIE KLEINE MATEN – PULCHRI GALERIE FEBRUARI 2025
-PULCHRI: VIDEO ART – SCREENTIME #9 / MY VIDEO ANIMATION EUROPE – AUGUST 3 / NOVEMBER 3 2024
-PULCHRI STUDIO/ APRIL 2024- SALON
-MICKS ART GALLERY EMMEN, THE NETHERLANDS – OKTOBER 2023/ JANUARI 2024
-EXHIBITION NEW MEMBERS – PULCHRI STUDIO / JULI 2023
-VOORJAARSSALON EN JACOB HARTOGPRIJS: PULCHRI STUDIO/ APRIL 2023
-KLEINE FORMAAT TENTOONSTELLING – PULCHRI STUDIO DEN HAAG / FEBRUARI – MEI 2023


 

Biography

I was born in Suriname, South America, and carry a rich cultural heritage within me: Surinamese, Indonesian, African, and a touch of Dutch. I grew up in the Netherlands, surrounded by the legacy of the old Dutch masters — in a land where Vermeer and Rembrandt are never far from sight.

An assignment for a perfume brand once took me to Venice. There, I was deeply moved by the baroque art, architecture, and layered history of the city. That experience stirred something profound in me and became a lasting source of inspiration that still shapes my artistic vision today.

My creative process is carefully crafted and deeply multidisciplinary. I build my sets with great attention to detail, incorporating my other artistic passions: charcoal drawing, working with gold, textiles, and advanced photo manipulation. Every piece I create brings all these elements together into one cohesive expression.

I photograph human figures, men and women but mainly women — powerful, glamorous, mysterious figures who exist in dreamlike, emotive worlds. They often appear unaware of their surroundings, yet they radiate a quiet, irresistible dominance. 

My work is sensual and poetic, blending fantasy with the emotional sensitivity of the old masters, while remaining rooted in the present.

After many years, I returned to my birth country. I traveled deep into the Amazon Rainforest, reconnecting with my native land, its raw beauty, and the overwhelming force of nature. That journey awakened a new path in my work — one that explores the relationship between self and the connection between landscape. But most of all, the love for nature.

My work moves between contrasts: energy and stillness, strength and sensitivity. Color, form, and atmosphere are the threads that tie everything together. Life has taught me that I need both — the intensity and the calm — to create balance in my art and within myself.