Summary
Jan Hendrix (1949 – Present), a Dutch-born artist who has lived and worked in Mexico since 1978. Hendrix received the Order of the Aztec Eagle from the Mexican government for his work in art and architecture. His works experiment with scale and feature subjects ranging from the natural world to the utopian ideals of architecture.
Born into a family of farmers in Maasbree in the Netherlands, Jan Hendrix’s family initially opposed his choice to pursue a career in the arts at the age of sixteen, after failing all subjects at school with the exception of drawing. One of his key memories of childhood is a visit to a local museum with his father, where the Kunst-und-Wunderkammer left a lasting impression on Hendrix.
At the age of seventeen, Hendrix left home to enrol in the Royal Academy of the Arts in Den Bosch, from which he was subsequently expelled due to rebellious behaviour. Following an invitation from Japanese artist Shinkichi Tajiri, Hendrix became a student at the radical Atelier 63 in Haarlem. During his time at Atelier 63, he also worked at the Smeets printer company, mastering the craft of proof printing.
While continuing his master degree studies at the Jan van Eyck Academie from 1971 to 1975, Hendrix forged strong links with a group of acclaimed artists in Dusseldorf, including Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer, Nam Jun Paik and Dieter Roth. Exchange with these artists would influence Hendrix’s later projects, leading him to prioritise paper and ink as his primary media.
Since the 1970s, Hendrix has worked extensively in both Northern Norway and Mexico. In the latter location, Hendrix frequented Luis Lopez Loza’s workshop, where artists including Emilio Ortiz, Fiona Alexander, and Leonora Carrington used to work. A crucial site for a community of artists and collectors in Mexico, it was there that Hendrix began friendships with Francisco Toledo and Gunther Gerzso. In 1978, Hendrix chose to settle in Mexico, finding inspiration in its endless supply of landscapes. The artist opened his own workshop, further experimented with serigraphy, and began research on fractal composition. Drawing has become increasingly important in his practice.
In the last twenty-five years, Hendrix’s work has been shown in Mexico, the Netherlands, and beyond. Solo shows of his work have been held at the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, the Imperial Archives of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin.
https://shaperomodern.com/the-gallery-artists/hendrix
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