ABOUT
Lililoe is the artist name of Claire Koopal. Under this name, she creates a personal visual universe in which her works unfold.
Claire’s work consists of visual art in which emotion, imagination, and the unexpected play a central role. She creates eccentric, distinctive characters that inhabit unusual, often surreal environments. Humor and vulnerability run through her work as a continuous thread. Whether depicting moments of exuberant joy or quiet introspection, her work carries an emotional resonance that extends beyond the image itself.
Claire’s work is defined by contrasts and extremes. Much of her work is in black and white, with color introduced sparingly to enhance atmosphere or emotional intensity. In other works, color takes on a much more dominant role, while black-and-white drawing remains a central, structuring element.
Moving between playfulness and seriousness, her visual language invites the viewer to engage with the characters and their inner worlds.
BACKGROUND
Claire grew up in a small village in the Netherlands during the 90’s, with a mother working in education and a father who served in the army. In a village with few distractions, she found an early refuge in drawing, using pen and paper to construct her own imagined worlds. Creativity ran naturally through her family: her grandmother ran a fashion school, while her grandfather was a gifted draftsman.
From an early age, Claire came to use drawing as a way to explore emotion and articulate her relationship to the world. This sense of layering continues to inform her work, in which playfulness and vulnerability exist side by side.
Claire graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2011. After her studies, she worked for several years as a designer within the high-end hospitality industry, alongside commissioned narrative work. Today, she focuses on the development of her autonomous practice, within which she creates both independent work and commissioned projects. Her work is informed by interests in interior design, architecture, everyday observations, and artists such as Tim Burton, Tim Walker, Edward Gorey, Hieronymus Bosch, and Fiep Westendorp.
