Emo Verkerk

Emo Verkerk (1955) started as a philosophy student, but after reading the interviews of the English critic David Sylvester with the painter Francis Bacon, he decided to focus on an education as an artist. In 1978, he was admitted to De Ateliers 63 in Haarlem. He became mainly known for his painted portraits of writers, philosophers, musicians, and visual artists he admired. In addition to reading their biographies, a photo often forms the starting point, in conjunction with the associations it evokes in the artist. Although they are not traditional portraits with a realistic depiction, they still possess a striking resemblance. His sculptures, which he calls 'objects', are created, unlike his portraits, from the mind, intuitively and originally. For this, he uses all sorts of household materials that he knows how to combine in surprising ways.