Willem Sanders
Willem Sanders (Helmond, 1954) is a well known painter who lives and works in Amsterdam and in Montesiglio, Italy. Sanders studied at the TeHaTex Möller Institute (1975-1980) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (1980-1981). His oeuvre consists mainly of portraits and landscapes in different mediums. In the eighties his breakthrough came, on the contrary, with large abstract works that were exhibited at The Living Room. Gallery in Amsterdam. Sanders’ work is based in a deep understanding of art traditions and philosophy, transcending that of the mere postmodern commentator. He is also much in demand as a teacher both in the Netherlands and internationally.
Work by Sanders has been inducted into such collections and institutions as: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, Stedelijk Museum, ‘s Hertogenbosch, Lentos Art Museum, Linz, and many international institutional collections.
Exhibitions of his work were held at MOMA, New York and he participated in the biennales of Sao Paulo, Istanbul and Bari.
In the eighties he received numerous important prizes and awards such as: the Buning Brongers Prize (1984) and the Sandberg Prize (1986).