The first real moment when Marinka Reuten realizes that living with art is a possibility comes at the age of thirteen. She boards a train from Emmen to Rotterdam to stay with her aunt, Antoinette Reuten. At the time, Antoinette is teaching at the Willem de Kooning Academy and surrounds herself with art at home. Paintings lean against the walls, art books are scattered everywhere, and her way of life feels completely different from what Marinka knows. Only much later does Marinka realize: this was the moment she first felt: I want to live like this, with art.
Academy of Art and Design
Marinka decides to study photography. After finishing secondary school, she applies to the AKI (Academy of Art and Design) in Enschede and is accepted. In the foundation year (“everyone should have a year like that in their life” Marinka often says), she explores disciplines like painting and sculpture—media she had never worked in before. It’s a true eye-opener. In the end, inspired by Grapus, a French graphic design collective (renowned for its fusion of political activism and strong, free visual communication), she chooses graphic design. Her drive to create personal work remains strong.
After graduation
After graduation, Marinka moves to Amsterdam and starts working as a freelance graphic designer. Between 1992 and 1997, she designs theatre posters, supplements for daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and books for various publishers. She’s also invited by Julius Vermeulen to design a postage stamp for the Dutch postal service PTT (now KPN). From 1997 to 1999, she lives and works in Lisbon, establishing herself as a graphic designer in the Portuguese capital.
Back in Amsterdam, Marinka works for a wide range of clients, including the Jewish Cultural Quarter, the Netherlands Film Festival, and publishing house Atlas Contact. For several years, she also works part-time at de Volkskrant, where she designs the Volkskrant Magazine, published every Saturday.
Throughout the years, she continues to make personal work and regularly discusses it with her aunt Antoinette Reuten, who by then runs a gallery in Amsterdam.
Fully focus on her autonomous work
In 2022, Marinka returns to her foundation. She closes her design practice and decides to fully focus on her autonomous work. She debuts this work publicly in 2024 at the (re)Discoveries art fair in Amsterdam. In 2025, her work is included in group exhibitions at Gallery Fanny Freytag in Amsterdam, Yellow Gallery in Leiden, and This Art Fair in Amsterdam.
Academy of Art and Design
Marinka decides to study photography. After finishing secondary school, she applies to the AKI (Academy of Art and Design) in Enschede and is accepted. In the foundation year (“everyone should have a year like that in their life” Marinka often says), she explores disciplines like painting and sculpture—media she had never worked in before. It’s a true eye-opener. In the end, inspired by Grapus, a French graphic design collective (renowned for its fusion of political activism and strong, free visual communication), she chooses graphic design. Her drive to create personal work remains strong.
After graduation
After graduation, Marinka moves to Amsterdam and starts working as a freelance graphic designer. Between 1992 and 1997, she designs theatre posters, supplements for daily newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and books for various publishers. She’s also invited by Julius Vermeulen to design a postage stamp for the Dutch postal service PTT (now KPN). From 1997 to 1999, she lives and works in Lisbon, establishing herself as a graphic designer in the Portuguese capital.
Back in Amsterdam, Marinka works for a wide range of clients, including the Jewish Cultural Quarter, the Netherlands Film Festival, and publishing house Atlas Contact. For several years, she also works part-time at de Volkskrant, where she designs the Volkskrant Magazine, published every Saturday.
Throughout the years, she continues to make personal work and regularly discusses it with her aunt Antoinette Reuten, who by then runs a gallery in Amsterdam.
Fully focus on her autonomous work
In 2022, Marinka returns to her foundation. She closes her design practice and decides to fully focus on her autonomous work. She debuts this work publicly in 2024 at the (re)Discoveries art fair in Amsterdam. In 2025, her work is included in group exhibitions at Gallery Fanny Freytag in Amsterdam, Yellow Gallery in Leiden, and This Art Fair in Amsterdam.
