Biography
Folkert de Jong is known for his life-size sculptural groups made of Styrofoam and polyurethane foam, used as insulation in construction, architecture, and set design for the Hollywood film industry. With this atypical material for art, derived from the petrochemical industry, De Jong creates remarkably complex tableaus of grotesque worlds that depict power, violence, disaster, and other disturbing aspects of the human condition. Intrigued by the depths of the human soul, the artist draws the viewer into this world where the bizarre and the vulnerable converge. His work often evokes art historical associations alongside contemporary political issues and current concerns, with a sense of a post-apocalyptic future. Over the years, Folkert de Jong’s sculptures have become more technically virtuosic and painterly.
READ MOREFolkert de Jong was born in Alkmaar in 1972 and grew up in Egmond aan Zee, on the North Sea coast. After high school, he began studying nursing in Alkmaar at the age of 18. After abandoning his nursing studies, he moved to Amsterdam in 1992 to study crafts and art history in a teacher training program, graduating in 1996. He was largely self-taught as an artist and applied in 1998 to the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, from which he graduated at the end of 1999.
After that, he participated in several international artist residencies, including the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City from 2004 to 2005. From that point on, and continuing to this day, De Jong has further developed his international artistic career, collaborating with galleries worldwide. He lives and works in Amsterdam.
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Education
2004- ISCP International Studio and Curatorial Program New York, USA
1998 – 2000 Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1994 – 1996 Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Selected solo exhibitions
2025
- Woods Art Institute, Hamburg, Germany
- St Chads, London, UK
- Luthermuseum, Amsterdam, NL
- In Limbo, Galerie Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerpen, NL
- The Hero, the Villain and the Truth’, Museum De Fundatie Zwolle, NL
2024
- The Hero, the Villain and the Truth’, Brutus, Rotterdam, NL
- Museum M, Weert
- The Shooting…,Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, NL
2023
- Kunsthal Kade, Amersfoort.
- Laurenskerk, Alkmaar
2022
- Ex Voto, Scheepvaart Museum Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Duo/Solo exhibition Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris, France
- Solo exhibition PRJCT, Los Angeles, USA
2021
- Omina, Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen.
2020
- Ex Voto, Grote Kerk Veere
2019
- Fons Welters Amsterdam, NL
- Marc Straus Gallery, New York, USA
2018
- Last Nation, MOCA, Tucson, USA
- Luis Adelantado Gallery, Mexico
- DENK Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
- Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris, France
2017
- GEM, The Hague, The Netherlands
- Totémisme, monCHÉRI, Brussels, Belgium
- Plasma Pool, Luis Adelantado, Valencia, Spain
Selected group exhibition
2026
- Refugium, Rijksmuseum Panorama Mesdag, Den Haag
2025
- IMPAKT, Curator Ine Gevers, Utrecht,
- Berthold Pott Gallery, Köln, Germany
- Garnalenkerk, Amsterdam, NL
- Galerie Vriend van Bavink, Amsterdam, NL
- MoMU, Antwerpen, Belgium
2024
- Material Resonance, AIEVA Museum, Birmingham Alabama, USA
- Met de Rug naar Zee, Museum Kranenburgh, Bergen, Netherlands
2022
- Mayhem, City centre Middelburg, Netherlands
- The hero with a 1000 faces, Galerie Maurits van de Laar, Den Haag.
2019
- Vrijheid – vijftig Nederlandse kernkunstwerken sinds 1968, Museum De Fundatie, Zwolle,NL
- Hate Speech. Aggression and Intimacy, Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien, Graz, AT
- Trouble in Paradise, Collection Rattan Chadha, Kunsthal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2018
- Out of Office, Singer Museum Laren, Laren, The Netherlands
2017
- Archive Fever, Kunstruimte De Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2016
- Zoals jij en ik, Art Chapel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Busan Biennial, South Korea
- Waanzin en werkelijkheid: Werken uit Rabo Kunstcollectie en Verzamerling Würth, Kunstlocatie Würth, Den Bosch, The Netherlands
- Once in a Lifetime, Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Sonsbeek ’16, Arnhem, The Netherlands
- GlassFever, Dordtyart, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
- Beeldengalerij, The Hague, The Netherlands
- The Holyland, The Fields Sculpture Park, Omi International Arts Center, Ghent, New York, USA.
Prizes
2005 Den Haag Sculpture ‘Orange Award’
2004 Thieme Art Award
2004 RAI Art Fair Prize
2003 Nomination Prix de Rome, Sculpture
2002 Charlotte Köhler Prize
Publications
2007
Les Saltimbanques — Marc Straus, Gregory Volk
2009
Circle of Trust — S. van der Zijpp
2016
Vooruitblik op 2018 in de Diamantbeurs — Edo Dijksterhuis (Het Parool)
Terugblik op SONSBEEK ’16 — Antonie den Ridder (Beeldenmagazine)
2017
Folkert de Jong reageert wild op De Stijl — Sandra Smets (NRC)
Folkert de Jong — Christine Vuegen (H Art)
‘Totémisme’ by Folkert de Jong at monChERI, Brussels — (author not specified) (OFluxo)
Postcards from Brussels, Folkert de Jong — (author not specified) (KubaParis)
2019
La Condition Humaine — The Ministry of Foam, Monography
50 Ceramic Works — The Ministry of Foam, Monography
Collections
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
LAM Art Museum, Lisse, Netherlands
Middelheim Museum, Antwerp, Belgium
Woods Art Institute, Hamburg, Germany
Portland Art Museum, USA
Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht
VIEW MOREBowdoin College Museum of Art, USA
Dakis Joannou Collection Athens
Ernst & Young
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Netherlands
Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca
HudsonValley Center for Contemporary Art New York
KRC Collectie, Netherlands
Lever House Art Collection New York
Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles
Museum Het Domein Sittard, Netherlands
Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium
Museum Voorlinden/Caldic Collection, Netherlands
Margulies Art Collection at the Warehouse Miami
Musée des beaux-arts de Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Plancius Art Collection, Netherlands
Rabo Kunstcollectie, Netherlands
The Saatchi Collection, London
Theodor Gilissen Bank, Netherlands
VandenBroek Foundation, Netherlands
