Willem Volkersz | Biography
Back to Willem Volkersz | Work
Media Description: Neon, Acrylic, Found Objects
Artist Statement
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.
Recent Shows and/or Exhibitions
South Dakota Art Museum, 2021
Boise Art Museum, 2022-23
Missoula Art Museum, 2023
Radius Gallery (Missoula), 2023
Aunt Dofe's Gallery (Willow Creek), 2024
Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 2024
Yellowstone Art Museum, 2024
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.
Recent Shows and/or Exhibitions
South Dakota Art Museum, 2021
Boise Art Museum, 2022-23
Missoula Art Museum, 2023
Radius Gallery (Missoula), 2023
Aunt Dofe's Gallery (Willow Creek), 2024
Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 2024
Yellowstone Art Museum, 2024