Past Exhibition

Willem Volkersz: The View from Here

January 23 – March 30, 2024

Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery

Willem Volkersz (American, born the Netherlands, 1939), Follow Your Bliss, 1994/2015, neon, wood, acrylic/latex paint, found objects, 103 x 133 x 47 1/2 inches, collection of the artist.

Organized by the Missoula Art Museum and the South Dakota Art Museum, Willem Volkersz: The View from Here presents a 25-year retrospective exhibition for Volkersz, an internationally-recognized mixed media artist who is known for his neon and mixed media installations that often reproduce vernacular paint-by-numbers kits. The exhibition features 26 works that touch upon his early life in Holland during WWII, his immigration to America, and his current life in the Western United States. 

Willem Volkersz (b. 1939) came to the United States from Holland in 1953 after experiencing the Nazi occupation and the devastation of World War II. Volkersz has often said that he has an immigrant's fascination with America, and as a teenager, he began hitchhiking and driving throughout the American West, camera in hand. Inspired by neon advertising signs that he encountered during his travels, Volkersz went on to pioneer the use of neon in art. His love of photography, travel, American roadside culture, Americana, and folk and visionary art also served as inspiration and can be found throughout his works. His artwork also suggests the ways his personal experiences and passions connect to wider social issues of enduring relevance for everyone. 

Volkersz and his wife Diane are also a renowned collectors of Folk and self-taught artists and several of the works that they have collected are currently on view in the Singular Visions exhibition taking place at the HFMA now through April 20.

Volkersz studied art and architecture at the University of Washington before earning an MFA in painting at Mills College in Oakland, CA. After teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute for 18 years, he came to Montana State University-Bozeman in 1986 to direct the School of Art and teach until his retirement in 2001. Volkersz’ work has been featured in 46 solo exhibitions and in over 200 group shows in the U.S., Canada, England, Scotland, China, and Taiwan. He is the recipient of many awards, including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, grants from the Mellon Foundation and Gottlieb Foundation, and a 2020 Montana Governor’s Arts Award. He’s been a visiting artist and lecturer at almost 100 institutions in the U.S., Canada, Europe and China.

Exhibition Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog of Volkersz’ work with writing by South Dakota Art Museum Interim Director and Exhibitions Curator Jodi Lundgren, curator emeritus of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum Bonnie Laing-Malcolmson, artist and former Yellowstone Art Museum curator Gordon McConnell, and Missoula Art Museum senior curator Brandon Reintjes. 

The book will be available in the HFMA store for $20 during the exhibition. 

Exhibition Related Events

LECTURE

Willem Volkersz
Saturday, January 20, 2024
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Paulus Lecture Hall, Willamette University College of Law
Free and open to the public

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Members/VIP Opening Reception

Celebrating: Willem Volkersz: The View from Here
Saturday, January 20, 2024
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Hallie Ford Museum of Art

Members and invited guests only
New Members are welcome to join at the event or online

Online rsvp HERE BY JAn. 13, 2024 (ACCEPTANCES ONLY) 

Or by phone at 503-370-6855 or by email at museum-art@willamette.edu

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Financial Support