Biography
Ronald Ophuis is a painter whose work revolves around the human condition in times of conflict and its aftermath, from violence and trauma to the possibility of peace. He first gained recognition for large-scale paintings addressing war and sexual violence, from the concentration camps of the Second World War to the fall of Srebrenica, based on historical sources, conversations with survivors and staged scenes with actors. His paintings hold a tension between attraction and repulsion: with his distinctive paint treatment and meticulous compositions, he uses the beauty of oil painting to turn the viewer into an emotionally involved witness. In recent years his work has shifted towards more abstract notions such as trauma and peace, centring on universal experiences of belonging, migration and solace. His oeuvre further includes landscapes, and portraits of victims, thinkers, writers and human rights lawyers.
Born in Hengelo in 1968, Ophuis lives and works in Amsterdam. He studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and AKI Academy of Art and Design in Enschede. He received the Charlotte Köhler Prize in 1998 and the Jeanne Oosting Prize in 2004. His work has been shown at institutions including Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Dordrechts Museum, Kunsthal Rotterdam, the Jan Cunen Museum in Oss and Fondation Francès in Senlis, as well as at the Busan Biennale. It is held in collections including Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Dordrechts Museum, and Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle.