Henk Mulders - very large mixed media (including collage oil paint watercolor) "self-image" signed

• Henk Mulders was born on 8 December 1933 in Nijmegen as the eldest son of Bert Mulders (1904-1993) and Marie Saedt (1905-1995). Later his sisters Ans (1936) and Mia (1947) were born. When the Second World War broke out, Henk was 6 years old. Nijmegen was the first city to fall into German hands in May 1940. The war naturally had a great influence on his youth. He spent a lot of time with his mother and Ans at farmer Peters in Groesbeek. His mother did sewing there in exchange for food. Henk helped with work on the land. The bombing of Nijmegen on 22 February 1944 also had a great impact. Among the many dead were a niece of Henk and several friends. At the end of the war, Nijmegen was heavily under fire and the family even had to flee to Afferden.

During the war years, Henk attended the Public Primary School on the Van Nispenstraat. He then went to the Craft School. He worked for a short time at the Van der Wacht painting company, but soon he was more attracted to real painting. His uncle Hendrik (1898-2002), a brother of his father, who worked as a painter in Nijmegen, had a great influence on this. From 1952 to 1957, Henk attended the Academy of Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Arnhem. There he studied under Fred Sieger (1902-1999), Wim van Woerkom (1905-1998) and Dik Broos (1903-1991). During this time, he also developed a great love for antiques. He bought a lot, both at flea markets and from antique dealers. He was also attracted to classical music and regularly attended performances by the Gelders Orkest.
From 1957 to 1962 Henk continued his education at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunst in Amsterdam under Charles Roelofsz (1897-1962), Otto B. de Kat (1907-1995) and Constance Wibaut (1920). In 1974 Henk moved to a studio on the Gedempte Voldersgracht in Haarlem, a studio where he still works today. During this time he also participated in the BKR scheme, so that he could devote all his time to free work. Henk has worked with all kinds of materials during his career: oil paint, gouache, acrylic paint and watercolor. He also developed a preference for using handmade Japanese paper for his artworks. He also experimented with various techniques: etching, monotype, collage, ceramics and sculpture.
In addition, he worked abroad for longer periods. In 1957 and 1959 he was in Perugia, Rome and Anticoli Corrado in Italy. In the 70s and 80s he stayed regularly in Bargemon in France, he also spent a year in Paris. In the early 80s he also painted in Bavaria in Germany. He has participated in various exhibitions, including in the Centraal Museum Utrecht.