Ad Dekkers

Ad Dekkers

Nieuwpoort, 1938 - Gorinchem, 1974

Variatie op Cirkels V (1967) at Upstream Gallery. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij. Ad Dekkers, Reliëf met middellijnen, 1965. Wooden panel with saw cuts, 75 x 75 cm. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij. 'Square converted on the diagonal, 1968. Anodized aluminium, 90 x 90 cm. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij. 'Relief with 1/2 line', 1967. Painted wood, 120 x 120 cm. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij. 'Relief with 1/2 line', 1967. Painted wood, 120 x 120 cm. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij.
<span class='firstName'>Ad</span> <span class='lastName'>Dekkers</span>
Ad Dekkers
  • Biography
  • Exhibitions
  • Downloads

Biography

In the early 1960s, Ad Dekkers (1938-1974) became known for his thorough investigation into the plane, the shape and the line. Dekkers most often started his works with a circle, square or triangle, connecting his work to pre-war artists such as Piet Mondriaan, whose view he shared that the most universal concepts could be expressed with the purest possible visual means. From 1965, he started making reliefs in editions, often cast in polyester, but also made in different materials such as wood and aluminium. By painting his reliefs monochrome, and mostly white, the effect of light could be optimally utilized. Additionally, Dekkers greatly reduced the number of compositional elements and accentuated the specific character of each of the geometric basic forms by a single systematic intervention.

Dekkers was represented by Riekje Swart, the Amsterdam based gallerist who also worked with international artists such as Lucio Fontana, Sol Lewitt, Agnes Martin, François Morellet, Peter Struycken and Gerhard von Graevenitz. Supported by Jean Leering, director of the Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, his work was also included in seminal exhibitions such as the 1967 Biennal of São Paolo together with Jan Schoonhoven and Peter Struycken and the Documenta 4 in Kassel in 1968, in a gallery room shared with Elsworth Kelly. 

Exhibitions

Dekkers, Boezem, Rozendaal

22 Nov - 18 Dec '19

From ZERO to 2018

14 Apr - 19 May '18

Waves Breaking on the Shore. Ad Dekkers in his time (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam)

20 Jun - 22 Aug '98

Flemish and Dutch painting from van Gogh, Ensor, Magritte, Mondrian to Contemporary Artists (Palazzo Grassi, Venezia)

16 Mar - 7 Dec '97

De Nederlandse identiteit in de kunst na 1945 (Van Goghmuseum, Amsterdam)

16 Dec '84 - 15 Apr '85

Ad Dekkers (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam)

4 Dec '81 - 17 Jan '82

België Nederland: Knooppunten en parallellen in de kunst na 1945 (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam)

20 Jun - 10 Aug '80

Ad Dekkers, tekeningen 1971/1974 (Rijksmuseum Kröller Muller, Otterlo)

11 Jun - 31 Jul '77

Ad Dekkers, de lijn (Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven)

26 Apr - 16 Jun '73

Documenta 5

30 Jun - 8 Oct '72

Ad Dekkers (Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague)

28 Jan - 26 Mar '72

Sonsbeek 71, Sonsbeek buiten de perken

19 Jun - 15 Aug '71

Biennale 1969 Nürnberg, Konstruktive kunst, Elemente und Prinzipien

18 Apr - 3 Aug '69

Ad Dekkers, reliëfs 1961-1968 (Groninger Museum, Groningen)

4 Feb - 4 Mar '68

Dutch Contemporary Art (Dutch Pavillion, world exhibition Montréal)

19 Aug - 3 Oct '67

Ad Dekkers, Hans Koetsier (Stedelijk Museum, Schiedam)

15 Oct - 16 Nov '66

Kunst na 1945 (Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven)

8 Oct - 6 Nov '66

Liga Nieuw Beelden, beeldhouwkunst, grafiek, schilderkunst (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam)

11 Mar - 30 Mar '64

Downloads

close gallery