Piet Zwaanswijk

Piet Zwaanswijk
Zwaanswijk wearing his Order of Orange-Nassau and holding his own self-portrait etching plate
Born(1947-09-12)12 September 1947
Haarlem, Netherlands
Died14 November 2024(2024-11-14) (aged 77)
NationalityDutch
Occupationartist

Piet Zwaanswijk (12 September 1947 – 14 November 2024) was a Dutch sculptor, engraver, illustrator, painter, photographer and installation artist.

Zwaanswijk was born in Haarlem in 1947. His father was in the army. Several of his works are war-related.

Together with Jan Heijer, Zwaanswijk founded the museum called Jan en Piet-museum [nl] and was a creative workshop in Haarlem. It opened on 30 October 2005 in a vacant commercial building. The museum closed 1 on September 2019.

Zwaanswijk received the culture prize "De Olifant" in 1997

Zwaanswijk is regarded as "one of the most respected post-World War II visual artists of Haarlem" and his work had a "profound influence on the local art scene".

In 2016, Zwaanswijk's artwork Merry Fucking Christmas in Haarlem received criticism. The work included a mannequin shooting a Christmas peak through the head with a gun. According to Zwaanswijk, it was intended as an indictment of the commercial nature of Christmas. Because some Haarlem residents found it offensive, former alderman Jur Botter asked the artist to remove the work.

Zwaanswijk had his last main exhibition in 2022 named Deadline. This anniversary exhibition, in honor of his 75th birthday, was about the theme of war: from the World War I, Vietnam War to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Zwaanswijk suffered from pancreatic cancer and died via euthanasia on 14 November 2024, at the age of 77.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kleurrijke kunstenaar Piet Zwaanswijk (77) overleden. 'Zo zacht en tegelijk zo stevig in zijn principes'". Haarlems Dagblad (in Dutch). 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "Piet Zwaanswijk exposeert met Yoko Ono en Marcel Duchamp". Haarlems Dagblad (in Dutch). 18 July 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  3. ↑ "Kunstenaar met fascinatie voor uniformen: "Ik wilde het leger in"". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). 10 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Kunstenaar Piet Zwaanswijk overleden: 'Hij paste niet in hokjes'". Haarlem105 (in Dutch). 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  5. ↑ "Kunstenaar Zwaanswijk haalt omstreden werk weg". Haarlem105 (in Dutch). 17 December 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  6. ↑ "Piet Zwaanswijk wordt 75 en exposeert bij 37PK. Onvermoeibaar rebellerend tegen de gevestigde orde van de kunsten". Haarlems Dagblad (in Dutch). 5 August 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2024.