Oelbers was trained as a boatbuilder in Lowestoft, UK. After working for several years as a shipwright and deckhand aboard windjammers, she spent a period creating wooden figureheads, stern carvings and other decorative elements for ocean-going vessels. It was a time of an abundance of commissions, producing a range of intriguing results. Yet through this work, she gradually became aware of her true calling: in the three-dimensional creation of sculptural form. Realism was to remain her guiding principle from the outset, but devorced from decoration and functionality.

Her purely realistic images show an almost rebellious stance in the current zeitgeist, particularly due to their thematic content.

In recent years, Oelbers’ sculptures have addressed major social issues: gender, war, discrimination, migration, loneliness, and the uncertainty about the future. Yet they never deal with abstract issues, but always with the human being who must maintain its balance under pressure from circumstances. Oelbers shows how, under pressure from circumstances, people try to maintain their equilibrium, how they bear loss and, despite everything, retain their dignity. Her sculptures do not illustrate; they interpret. They add a layer of meaning to reality, thereby elevating the private above itself. Those who take the time to look discover no unambiguous answers, but are invited to reflect anew on the world and the human beings within it. Her work is constantly in development.

Oelbers’ work is represented by leading galleries in the Netherlands and abroad and can be seen at various art fairs. Additionally, a number of sculptures can be seen at Studio Ilse Oelbers in Harlingen, the Netherlands.