Born in 1974 in Roermond, the Netherlands. From 1992 to 1996, Beltjens attended the Academy of Visual Arts in Tilburg, the Netherlands. In 1998, she received her M.A. from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, and in 2001 her M.F.A. from the University of California at Davis.

Typical for the sculpture of Nelleke Beltjens is the preference for small and medium-sized formats, the work on extensive series of works and their presentation in multi-part floor installations. From 1997 to 1999, there were works in steel with clear allusions to architectonic forms. In 2000, the references to architecture receded and strictly formalized works in steel came into being, which revealed Beltjens’ confrontation with minimal art. In 2001, she began working with combinations of material, first with concrete and steel. In 2002 and 2003 different residencies in the USA: in Vermont (February, 2002), where, for the first time, she began creating works in wood combined with plaster, in Wyoming (March/April, 2002) in Maine (August/September, 2002) and at the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire (August/September, 2003). Beltjens herself singles out the stay in Wyoming as a milestone in her personal and artistic development due to the existential experience offered by the prairie landscape, emptiness and quiet. She takes inspiration for her works from travels and changes of scenery, from getting to know new countries and people. But music also serves as a great inspiration. While residing in the US, Jazz has had a grand impact on her sculptures. This is reflected in the rhythmic form combinations of the wood/plaster polyhedrons and may be detected in the increasingly improvisational working method where the forms are no longer designed in advance, but develop spontaneously during the work process. But above all it is classical and new music that exert a considerable influence on her creative thought processes with in particular piano music by Bach and Feldman. Beltjens’ artistic goal is expressly the creation of beauty and the desire to provide the viewer with a more intense perception of his own sensitivity. Stimulated by impressions resulting from a trip to Thailand, the first works in wood and plaster which are cut through by lines of red or blue pigmentation came about in 2003. Since then, she has been working with various materials whereas the latest pieces are executed in solid steel.  – Presently working in Bozeman, Montana, USA.