Michael Berkhemer (22 March 1948 – 15 August 2022) was a Dutch painter, graphic artist and creator of wall sculptures. His non-figurative art represents a tradition of its own, but is in line with American abstract expressionism and the material minimalism of Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin and Robert Ryman.
Berkhemer is the son of sculptor and reciter Willem Berkhemer (1917–1998) and Yvonne de Swarte (1920–2006) – who met while in hiding –, and the brother of harpist Mirte Berkhemer (1946–1979) and violinist, composer and conductor Joan Berkhemer (1951).
Life and work Early years Berkhemer grew up in Wageningen and Arnheim in an artistic family. He began painting in oils at an early age, encouraged by his parents. At the age of seventeen, he was accepted at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arnheim. There he studied under Johan de Haas and became acquainted with the geometric and conceptual avant-garde of teachers such as Peter Struycken and Henk Peeters.
During his years at the academy, Berkhemer was mainly interested in figurative art. He was already receiving regular portrait commissions. His first solo exhibition took place in 1972.
In the early 1970s, Berkhemer established himself as a young artist in Amsterdam. He focused on dreamlike landscapes, female figures and still lifes in the spirit of Marc Chagall and Giorgio Morandi. In 1979, he moved into a studio at Prinsengracht 371, where he worked until his death in the summer of 2022.
Abstraction From the 1980s onwards, Berkhemer abandoned figurative art and immersed himself in the expressive power of color and form. This step was partly a result of his growing interest in artists such as Claude Monet, Piet Mondriaan, Ellsworth Kelly and Rothko.
Berkhemer developed a highly personal, emotional abstraction, employing a consistently recognizable technique: colors were applied by hand, layer upon layer, to create a warm, uneven 'skin'; lines and planes were arranged into geometric patterns that appeared random but were carefully thought out. Monochrome sections, or sections in different colors of different sizes, are joined to form composite canvases without frames. This results in objects in which the boundary between painting and wall relief is removed.
Berkhemer was led down the path of abstraction by modernist trends such as color field painting, Mondrian's Neoplasticism and Peter Struycken's algorithmic geometry, but he does not work according to a theory or mathematical model. 'I don't have any special interest in geometry, and I don't base my work on mathematical principles,' he explained in 2008. 'I don't consider myself as a geometric-abstract working artist, in the way this definition is normally used. Of course straight lines and geometric shapes are prominent elements in my work, but only and strictly as the result of an organization, not as a goal. So geometry is an organization model.'John Klein, ‘Interview with Michael Berkhemer’, in: Cornelia Homburg (ed.), Michael Berkhemer, Amersfoort (Mondriaanhuis) / Zwolle (Waanders) 2008, p. 93
And: ‘Nature is an important source of inspiration for me. Without intending to imitate natural forms, I seek to represent the emotional impact of nature in all its manifestations.’ Quotation Michael Berkhemer, 2004, in: C. Homburg, ‘“I am not a printmaker, I am a painter who makes prints.” Michael Berkhemer: A Print Retrospective’, St. Louis MO, US (Wildwood Press) 2007 (leaflet) These manifestations also include landscapes and even cities and buildings, though they are man-made in terms of design and construction.
In preliminary studies on graph paper, Berkhemer first works out his ideas very precisely. Form and proportion, line and color are determined in this phase. From this, the final work of art emerges as a freer interpretation.
Berkhemer often varies on formal themes that develop into series. His rhythmic works with muted but sensuous colors define the space in which they are placed and transform the surrounding architecture.
The 1980s and beyond From the 1980s onwards, Berkhemer travelled to the United States (Boston, New York, St. Louis), Italy (Tuscany, Umbria, Venice), France (Pyrenees, Giverny) and Indonesia. Nature, landscape, ancient and modern art make a big impression and remain a permanent source of inspiration.
In 1992, he joined Gallery Maria Chailloux, where he exhibited his work for 12 years. In the mid-1990s, he joined the Octagon group, whose members included Jac Bisschops, Riki Mijling, Martha Scheeren and Franz Immoos. They produced small editions of multiples, which were presented in the Netherlands and abroad.
After 2000, dozens of solo and group exhibitions followed in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the United States. Furthermore, Berkhemer is a member of the advisory committee for the Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture and of various acquisition committees.
Wall sculptures
From the 1990s onwards, Berkhemer expanded his field from the painted flat surface (which only gives an illusion of space) to geometric sculptural wall reliefs and wall sculptures, which occupy a more tangible space. The organic-looking forms, sawn from wood, are often derived from what he observed in nature. The treatment of the material is the same as in the paintings: layer upon layer, color upon color.
Graphics and stay in the United States Graphics have been an important part of Berkhemer's work for many years. In the 1990s, screen printing pioneer Hans Jansen encouraged him to make screen prints based on his own acrylic paintings. In 1996, he printed elliptical woodcuts in black and white at the studio of Amsterdam painter and graphic artist Ruben Herrera.
Three years later, Berkhemer visits the United States for a printmaking workshop led by painter and printmaker Peter Marcus, affiliated with Washington University School of Art in St. Louis. There, Berkhemer experiments with the collagraphy technique: very large prints that are assembled like a jigsaw puzzle, each print being unique (monotype). This is continued with Maryanne Simmons, master printer and founder of the Wildwood Press in St. Louis. In her studio, he further develops the process in intensive sessions between 2000 and 2011. The prints are mainly exhibited in the United States and are included in various (American) private and public collections.
In Amsterdam, at etching printer Eric Levert's studio, Berkhemer makes woodcuts of various sizes. In 2006, for example, he prints a series on gold leaf in small format.
Commissions and work in collections Berkhemer has built up a versatile oeuvre and experimented extensively with various materials, techniques and formats. The focus is always on the balance between form and color, reason and emotion. The large formats of his canvases lend themselves well to corporate collections, public and government buildings and other locations. In 2000, he collaborates with artist Alexander Lichtveld to design the color scheme and the façade panels of the ‘Het Fort’ (The Fort) residential area in The Hague. In 2002, 2003 and 2008, he creates wall sculptures for three cruise ships, M.S. Statendam V, Serenade of the Seas and Solstice. He also devotes himself to textile design and creates book covers for Meulenhoff Publishers for writers and poets as Gerhard Durlacher, H.C. ten Berge, K. Michel and Primo Levi.
Berkhemer's work is included in the collections of museums, institutions, companies and private collections in the Netherlands and abroad.
Statements by Michael Berkhemer
About Michael Berkhemer
Exhibitions (selection) Solo exhibitions 2022 Art The Hague 2021 Jan Six Fine Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2019 Kunstruimte KuuB, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2016 Unquiet Calm, S1 Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2015 Minder/meer (Less/More), Galerie Oranjerie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2013-2014 Thema's & Variaties (Themes and Variations), Landgoed Leusderend, Leusden, The Netherlands 2008-2009 Michael Berkhemer. Retrospective, Museum Mondriaanhuis, Amersfoort, The Netherlands 2007 Galerie Billing Bild, Baar, Switzerland; A Print Retrospective, Wildwood Press, St. Louis, Missouri, US 2005 Galerie Clement, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Museum Waterland, Purmerend, The Netherlands 2004 Galerie Billing Bild, Baar, Switzerland 2001 Parallele Universien (Parallel Universes), Gruppe Grün, Bremen (duo), Germany 2000 William Shearburn Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, US; Galerie Billing Bild, Baar, Switzerland; Ingenieurbüro Laqua, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany 1999 Galerie Maria Chailloux, Amsterdam (duo), The Netherlands; Nicolette Brink Kunstzaken, Nieuwerbrug (duo), The Netherlands 1997 Interferenties (Interferences), Museum Henriette Polak, Zutphen, The Netherlands; Het Oude Raadhuis, Aalsmeer, The Netherlands 1996 Galerie Maria Chailloux, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1994 Galerie Maria Chailloux, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1973-1993 Various solo exhibitions
Group 2024 Hommage to Michael Berkhemer and Gerard Höweler, SBK Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2020 Vier (Four), Haagse Kunstkring, The Hague, The Netherlands 2020 Contemporary Art Stuff - Collector's Selection II, Galerie Billing Bild, Baar, Switzerland 2018 KunstRai, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2017 Seattle Art Fair, Seattle, WA US; INK Miami Art Fair, Miami, FL US 2016 Arti Salon, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; INK Miami Art Fair, (Wildwood Press), Art Basel, Miami, FL US; Wildwood Press 20 Years, The Mitchell Museum, Cedarhurst Art Center, Mt. Vernon, IL US; This Art Fair, Beurs van Berlage (S1 Gallery), Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Natura Mystica, Kunsthal Almelo, The Netherlands (with Anutosh, Anya Janssen, Uwe Poth, Margriet Smulders a.o.); Museum Waterland Forty Years, Museum Waterland, Purmerend, The Netherlands (with Elizabeth de Vaal, Jaap Hillenius, André Volten, Ewerdt Hilgemann, Marian Plug, Piet Tuytel, Emo Verkerk a.o.); KunstRai (Galerie Oranjerie), Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2014 Natura Mystica, Landgoed Leusderend, Leusden (with Armando, Sjoerd Buisman, Heleen Cornet, Jimmy Nelson, Uwe Poth, Margriet Smulders a.o.); INK Miami Art Fair, Wildwood Press, Art Basel, Miami, FL US; Kleinbeeld (Small Image), Museum Waterland, Purmerend 2013 Het oog van de meester (His Master’s Eye), Museum Henriëtte Polak, Zutphen, The Netherlands (with Johan de Haas, Ramón Gieling, Roland Schimmel, Anne Semler, Judith Stolker, Albert van der Weide a.o.); Art Karlsruhe, Germany, (Bruijstens, Modern Art), Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2012 Mark Making, prints from Wildwood Press, Saint Louis University Museum of Art, St. Louis, Missouri, US 2011 Color Matters Part 3, Kunstruimte 09, Groningen, The Netherlands (with Linda Arts, José Heerkens, Alexandra Roozen, Martha Scheeren, Fabian Westphal a.o.); In abstracto, Galerie Artipoli, Noorden, The Netherlands; A printer's spotlight. 15 years of Wildwood Press, Gallery 210, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, US; Island Press. Three decades of printmaking, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri, US; Printer/Publisher/Artist/Patron. Courtney Obata and Wildwood Press, Bonsack Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, US 2010 Kunst Zürich (Galerie Billing Bild), Switzerland; Bagagehal Loods 6 Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2009-2010 Arti et Amicitiae Amsterdam The Netherlands 2009 Art Chicago 2009 Merchandise Mart Chicago, IL US 2008 Pulchri, The Hague, The Netherlands; Aqua Art Miami Wynwood District Miami, FL US; Art Chicago Merchandise Mart Chicago, IL US; Works in Progress/Prints From Wildwood Press, Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa US (Curator Dan Strong) 2007 Art at the Hilton, Dubai, Emirate of Dubai; Art Amsterdam (Galerie Clement) The Netherlands; Wildwood Press/Ten Years Bennington College Usdan Gallery Bennington, Vermont US