Willem Volkersz | Biography
Back to Willem Volkersz | Work
Media Description: Neon, Acrylic, Found Objects
Artist Statement
"High art and low culture need each other to renew their vitality--
without each to enhance the other, both would full flat."
Donald Kuspit, American Ceramics, Jan/Feb 1999
I have an immigrant's fascination with America. After my family emigrated to
Seattle from Holland when I was 14, I began driving throughout the West, camera in
hand, documenting an unfamiliar yet vibrant culture made up of billboards, vernacular
architecture, and decorated yards. Over time, I became increasingly fascinated with
popular culture: larger-than-life advertising figures, neon signs, postcards, and travel
souvenirs. Ultimately (after art and architecture studies at the University of Washington
and graduate school at Mills College), these experiences became sources for my
sculpture.
Although my training was primarily in the area of painting, I began adding found
objects to my work while in graduate school. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, I also
added neon and handcrafted objects and the work became narrative and often
autobiographical. Many of the sculptures were made in response to personal experiences
(like a major flood that inundated our house and studios in the late 1970') and eventually
I began to look back on my boyhood and our emigration to the US. The sculptures about
growing up during World War II are a prime example of the personal sources for much of
my work.
In recent years, I have worked on several different series. Domestic Neon
includes sculptures about my travels, experiences as a husband and father and life in the
West (some are about the rapid urbanization of our region). When I Was A Boy is a series
about growing up during World War II and the many young victims from my elementary
school who died during the Holocaust. The most recent work, Sort Stories, emerged
largely as an antidote to the sad and serious nature of the theme of war.
RESUME
Education BA (with honors), University of Washington, 1965
MFA, Mills College, 1967
Teaching Montana State University, 1986-2001 (Prof. Emeritus)
Pilchuck Glass School, Summer 1999
Kansas City Art Institute, 1968-86
Jacob Kramer College, Leeds, England, 1972-73
Ohio State University, 1967-68
Research Appointments
Visiting Fellow, Univ. of Kansas, 1986
Visiting Scholar, University of Kent, England, 1991
Administrative Appointments
Director, School of Art, Montana State University, 1986-91 and 1994-95
Director of Admissions, Kansas City Art Institute, 1981-83
Selected Fellowships & Grants
Individual Support Grant, Gottlieb Foundation, 2010
George Sugarman Foundation, 2007
Montana Arts Council Fellowship, 1997
Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, 1991
Mellon Senior Fellowship in the Humanities, 1986
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Polly Friendlander Gallery, 1970
Kansas City Art Institute, 1972
Leeds Polytechnic, Leeds, England, 1973
Montana State University, 1976, 1994, 1999
Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, 1974, 1976, 1987
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, 1988, 1994, 2008
Holter Museum of Art, 1990
Yellowstone Art Center, 1990
Reed Whipple Cultural Center, Las Vegas, 1992
Museum of the Rockies, 1993
Western Washington University, 1994
Plains Art Museum, 1994
Salt Lake Art Center, 1995
Nicolaysen Art Museum, 1998
Museum of Northwest Art, 1999
University of Puget Sound, 2000
Indiana State University, 2001
Museum of Neon Art, 2002
Missoula Art Museum, 2002
Beall Park Art Center, 2003
Custer County Art Center, 2005
Holter Museum of Art, 2006
Northwest Missouri State University, 2010
Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, 2010
Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2011
Missoula Art Museum (installation), 2011
Emerson Cultural Center, Bozeman, Montana, 2013
Turman Larison Contemporary, 2013
Selected Awards
James & Mary Ross Provost's Award for Excellence, Montana State University, 1999
Charles and Nora Wiley Research Award, MSU, 1998
Fridley Award for Distinguished Teaching, MSU, 1996
Work/Biography Included
Alaska Airlines magazine, May 2013
Illustration: A Visual History, Heller & Chwast, Harry N. Abrams, 2008
25 Years of New Glass Review, Corning Museum, 2006
New Glass Review, Corning Museum of Glass (2008, 2004, 1999, 1997, 1993, 1992)
The Sculpture Reference by Arthur Williams, 2004
Domestic Neon video, Media Works, Bozeman, MT, 2002
Glowing in the Dark film, Blue Plate Productions, Vancouver, BC, 1997
The Light Artist Anthology by Christian Schiess, ST Publications, 1993
Who's Who in American Art (since 1992)
Visiting Artist/Lecturer (selected)
Holter Museum of Art, 2011
President's Fine Arts Series, Montana State University, 2009
Kansas Artist Craftsman Association, 2008
Holter Museum of Art, 2006
Kansas City Art Institute, 2003
University of Northern Iowa, 2003
Swope Art Museum, 2001
Indiana State University, 2001
Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios, Orlando, 2000
Selected Reviews and Articles
Independent Record, Helena, MT, June 14, 2013 (front page article with photo)
Get Out!, Bozeman Chronicle, Feb. 8, 2013 (cover story)
Big Sky Journal, arts issue, 2012
Bozeman Chronicle, October 19, 2009
Artisan Northwest, Summer 2006
at home, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, April 18, 2006
LA Weekly, August 9-15, 2002
This Week, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, October 12, 2001
New Art Examiner, July/August 2001
"High art and low culture need each other to renew their vitality--
without each to enhance the other, both would full flat."
Donald Kuspit, American Ceramics, Jan/Feb 1999
I have an immigrant's fascination with America. After my family emigrated to
Seattle from Holland when I was 14, I began driving throughout the West, camera in
hand, documenting an unfamiliar yet vibrant culture made up of billboards, vernacular
architecture, and decorated yards. Over time, I became increasingly fascinated with
popular culture: larger-than-life advertising figures, neon signs, postcards, and travel
souvenirs. Ultimately (after art and architecture studies at the University of Washington
and graduate school at Mills College), these experiences became sources for my
sculpture.
Although my training was primarily in the area of painting, I began adding found
objects to my work while in graduate school. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, I also
added neon and handcrafted objects and the work became narrative and often
autobiographical. Many of the sculptures were made in response to personal experiences
(like a major flood that inundated our house and studios in the late 1970') and eventually
I began to look back on my boyhood and our emigration to the US. The sculptures about
growing up during World War II are a prime example of the personal sources for much of
my work.
In recent years, I have worked on several different series. Domestic Neon
includes sculptures about my travels, experiences as a husband and father and life in the
West (some are about the rapid urbanization of our region). When I Was A Boy is a series
about growing up during World War II and the many young victims from my elementary
school who died during the Holocaust. The most recent work, Sort Stories, emerged
largely as an antidote to the sad and serious nature of the theme of war.
RESUME
Education BA (with honors), University of Washington, 1965
MFA, Mills College, 1967
Teaching Montana State University, 1986-2001 (Prof. Emeritus)
Pilchuck Glass School, Summer 1999
Kansas City Art Institute, 1968-86
Jacob Kramer College, Leeds, England, 1972-73
Ohio State University, 1967-68
Research Appointments
Visiting Fellow, Univ. of Kansas, 1986
Visiting Scholar, University of Kent, England, 1991
Administrative Appointments
Director, School of Art, Montana State University, 1986-91 and 1994-95
Director of Admissions, Kansas City Art Institute, 1981-83
Selected Fellowships & Grants
Individual Support Grant, Gottlieb Foundation, 2010
George Sugarman Foundation, 2007
Montana Arts Council Fellowship, 1997
Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, 1991
Mellon Senior Fellowship in the Humanities, 1986
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Polly Friendlander Gallery, 1970
Kansas City Art Institute, 1972
Leeds Polytechnic, Leeds, England, 1973
Montana State University, 1976, 1994, 1999
Francine Seders Gallery, Seattle, 1974, 1976, 1987
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, 1988, 1994, 2008
Holter Museum of Art, 1990
Yellowstone Art Center, 1990
Reed Whipple Cultural Center, Las Vegas, 1992
Museum of the Rockies, 1993
Western Washington University, 1994
Plains Art Museum, 1994
Salt Lake Art Center, 1995
Nicolaysen Art Museum, 1998
Museum of Northwest Art, 1999
University of Puget Sound, 2000
Indiana State University, 2001
Museum of Neon Art, 2002
Missoula Art Museum, 2002
Beall Park Art Center, 2003
Custer County Art Center, 2005
Holter Museum of Art, 2006
Northwest Missouri State University, 2010
Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, 2010
Coconino Center for the Arts, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2011
Missoula Art Museum (installation), 2011
Emerson Cultural Center, Bozeman, Montana, 2013
Turman Larison Contemporary, 2013
Selected Awards
James & Mary Ross Provost's Award for Excellence, Montana State University, 1999
Charles and Nora Wiley Research Award, MSU, 1998
Fridley Award for Distinguished Teaching, MSU, 1996
Work/Biography Included
Alaska Airlines magazine, May 2013
Illustration: A Visual History, Heller & Chwast, Harry N. Abrams, 2008
25 Years of New Glass Review, Corning Museum, 2006
New Glass Review, Corning Museum of Glass (2008, 2004, 1999, 1997, 1993, 1992)
The Sculpture Reference by Arthur Williams, 2004
Domestic Neon video, Media Works, Bozeman, MT, 2002
Glowing in the Dark film, Blue Plate Productions, Vancouver, BC, 1997
The Light Artist Anthology by Christian Schiess, ST Publications, 1993
Who's Who in American Art (since 1992)
Visiting Artist/Lecturer (selected)
Holter Museum of Art, 2011
President's Fine Arts Series, Montana State University, 2009
Kansas Artist Craftsman Association, 2008
Holter Museum of Art, 2006
Kansas City Art Institute, 2003
University of Northern Iowa, 2003
Swope Art Museum, 2001
Indiana State University, 2001
Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios, Orlando, 2000
Selected Reviews and Articles
Independent Record, Helena, MT, June 14, 2013 (front page article with photo)
Get Out!, Bozeman Chronicle, Feb. 8, 2013 (cover story)
Big Sky Journal, arts issue, 2012
Bozeman Chronicle, October 19, 2009
Artisan Northwest, Summer 2006
at home, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, April 18, 2006
LA Weekly, August 9-15, 2002
This Week, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, October 12, 2001
New Art Examiner, July/August 2001