About Ilse

Ilse Noor was born in Wipperfürth, Germany in 1941. At the age of sixteen, she studied graphic art under W.M. Stucke in Bonn, then at the College of Art in Köln and finally at the Academy of Fine Arts in München. There she studied both graphic art and painting under Professor Franz Nagel, winning her first award in painting. It was during this time that she met her future husband, migrating to Malaysia in 1974.

Ilse Noor’s art is much inspired by Alfred Kubin and Ernst Fuchs. She also shares with Walter Spies, a love for nature and an approach to art with an appreciation from the heart and senses, rather than from the mind. As one of Malaysia’s foremost graphic artist, it is evident that her fondness for nature, music and poetry is represented and meticulously executed in all her works, using the interplay of light and shadow. Her creative designs are not only executed by herself but are also manually printed in editions of 25 prints each, which are all individually numbered, titled and signed in pencil.

She has also worked on film animation, stage and puppet design for the “Sang Kancil Project“, illustrated classical reader books for Oxford University Press and published three children’s books. In addition, she has also written, illustrated and published two books entitled “Cenderawasih: The Seven Dreams, The Seven Palaces” and “Warisan Nusa“.

In 1985, she was commissioned by Shell Companies Malaysia to produce 24 etchings on selected historical buildings in Malaysia, for their 1987 calendar which was later published in 1991 as the book “Warisan Nusa Shell Book of Malaysian Heritage.” Among others, she was commissioned by His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor (then HRH Crown Prince), to produce etchings of Selangor’s Istana Bandar in 1992 and by Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS), to produce etchings to commemorate the company’s 50th Anniversary in 1997.

Her collections are sought after by private collectors and also reside in galleries, museums and banks all over the world from Egypt, France, Germany and even in Bosnia, where she participated in a group exhibition of Malaysian artists in 1997. She has participated in more than 80 group and 10 solo exhibitions over the past three decades.