Aaltje Brouwer 2024
Acrylic on Canvas
30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
Aaltje Brouwer was born in 1821 in Leeuwarden, a city in the northern province of Holland in the Netherlands. From an early age, her life was marked by hardship. When she was just eleven years old, her mother died, and her father was repeatedly imprisoned for vagrancy, leaving Aaltje to survive on her own.
Her story reflects the harsh realities faced by many women convicted of vagrancy in 19th-century Netherlands. These women often lived in urban poverty, isolated from strong social networks and without the safety net of family support.
Aaltje’s life is a testament to quiet resilience — a story of survival in a society that offered few protections. This painting is an homage to her, and to all those who endure in the face of adversity.
Zeeuws Meisje 2024
Acrylic on Tiles
40 x 24 inches (101.6 x 60.96 cm)
Zeeuws Meisje, or “Girl from Zeeland,” began as a farmer’s daughter in the 1800s and later became the face of one of the world’s oldest margarine brands. Over time, she transformed into more than a symbol of commerce — she became a cultural icon.
But who is she, really?
A “Zeeuw” is someone from Zeeland, a coastal province in the southwest of the Netherlands. People from this region are known for being “rechtdoorzee” — straightforward, resilient, loyal, and unafraid to speak their minds. As I researched Zeeuws Meisje, I realized these qualities aren't just regional; they’re deeply woven into the Dutch spirit. I see them in every Dutch person I know.
In this painting, Zeeuws Meisje presses her face against a wall of Delft Blue tiles — a symbol of tradition and national identity. She leans in, listening to her roots, learning from them, and holding space for the quiet power of where she comes from.
Equilibrium of Memory 2026
Ceramics and Concrete
19 W x 19 D x 14 H inches (48.26cm x 48.26cm x 35.56cm)
Je Maintiendrai 2024
Acrylic on Canvas
72 x 120 inches (182.88 x 304.80 cm)
15 Pieces 24 x 24 inches (60.96 x 60.96 cm)
“Je Maintiendrai” (I will maintain) has been the motto of the House of Orange-Nassau since the time of William of Orange, who inherited it along with the coat of arms of his cousin, René de Chalon.
In a letter dated January 1565, Prince William elaborated on the meaning behind the words:
Je maintiendrai la vertu et noblesse — I will maintain virtue and nobility.
Je maintiendrai de mon nom la haultesse — I will maintain the prestige of my name.
Je maintiendrai l’honneur, la foy, la loy — I will maintain the honour, the faith, and the law
De Dieu, du Roy, de mes amies et moi — of God, of the King, of my friends, and of myself.
In this artwork, Nina draws on that historic motto, using the vast North Sea and the figure of a swimmer as powerful metaphors for emancipation and resilience. The water becomes a symbol of the enduring strength of the Dutch people — those who have fought, generation after generation, to stay afloat, to rise, and to build a society that values equality and human rights.
“I realized that my fighting spirit through life’s hardships came from this quiet, inherited strength — the unconscious will to 'maintain' passed down through those who came before me.”
Modern Delft Blue tile patterns float across the surface of the work — a veil of heritage — through which identity, history, and progress continue to unfold.
Journey of a Thousand Miles 2025
Acrylic on Canvas
30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
She pauses on her path, caught in a quiet moment of reflection before stepping into what lies ahead. The tree-lined avenue — or “Laantje” — is inspired by a real place from the artist’s past, evoking memories of her youth in the Netherlands.
Each tree stands as a symbol of the moments, milestones, and memories that shape a life. The scene is not only a landscape but a deeply personal reflection — a message to the artist’s younger self, honoring the journey behind her and the unknown still to come
Origin 2024
Sculpture
Mixed Media
24 W x 12 D x 24 H inches (61cm x 30cm x 61cm)
Painted in the iconic Delft Blue palette, this sculpture functions as both a self-portrait and a narrative vessel, weaving together personal memories and the landscapes that shaped the artist’s life.
Delft Blue ceramics trace their origins back to the 17th century, a time when ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) returned from Asia laden with luxury goods — among them, Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Initially used as ship ballast, these ceramics quickly gained popularity in the Netherlands. When war in China disrupted the porcelain trade, Dutch artisans began producing their own versions, leading to the establishment of tile and pottery factories in the city of Delft.
Inspired by this legacy, Delft Blue tiles became known for their delicate depictions of Dutch life — pastoral scenes, maritime imagery, and everyday moments. In this sculpture, those traditional patterns are reimagined to tell the artist’s personal story: one of identity, place, and heritage.
Wind 2024
Giclée Print
20 x 30 inches (50.8 x 76.2cm)
Edition of 10
Signed and Numbered
Zee (Sea) 2024
Giclée Print
20 x 30 inches (50.8 x 76.2cm)
Edition of 10
Signed and Numbered
Land 2024
Giclée Print
20 x 30 inches (50.8 x 76.2cm)
Edition of 10
Signed and Numbered
In this work the artist takes a look at the classical and geographical elements she was brought up in. “Determining the specific elements that convey the essence of my elemental origin has been a thoughtful process. These works reflect the influences of my upbringing and evoke a profound sense of melancholy.”
Of Which I Am begins with a question of inheritance: what remains of a culture within us when we leave the place that formed us?
The series developed from Nina van Alphen’s experience of growing up in the Netherlands and later encountering her cultural identity from the position of a first-generation immigrant in the United States. Dutch history, symbols, landscapes, language, objects, and traditions become points of departure for examining how identity is passed between generations and how its meaning changes when viewed from a distance.
The works move between personal memory and collective history. Delft Blue ceramics, Dutch maritime imagery, national symbols, and stories of Dutch women are not presented simply as representations of a national culture. They become fragments through which belonging can be examined: what we inherit, what we recognize, what we question, and what we carry forward.
In Zeeuws Meisje, a familiar Dutch cultural figure is placed against Delft Blue, bringing together commercial imagery, regional identity, gender, and national memory. Je Maintiendrai turns toward the relationship between cultural inheritance and female resilience, while Journey of a Thousand Miles approaches the Dutch landscape through memory and the distance between childhood experience and adult perspective. In Origin, Delft Blue becomes material as well as image, allowing cultural history to exist physically within a contemporary sculptural form.
The series is ultimately less concerned with defining what Dutch identity is than with examining how identity is constructed through what we inherit. Seen from inside a culture, its symbols can appear ordinary. Seen from outside, they can become newly charged.
Of Which I Am occupies that space between familiarity and estrangement, asking how our understanding of where we come from changes when we are no longer looking at it from within.