Ilse Noor’s art is much inspired by Alfred Kubin and Ernst Fuchs. She shares with Walter Spies, a love for nature and an approach to art with an appreciation from the heart and senses. As one of Malaysia’s foremost graphic artists, 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. Shells contain symbolic values such as birth, good fortune, and spirituality across many cultures. Here, Ilse captures the exceptional beauty of the spiral construction of a shell and its distinctive form that radiates outwards, reminding people of a cherished place and memory. Ilse Noor 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. 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 shows and 10 solo exhibitions over the past three decades.