A preeminent Portland painter, Henk Pander is well known for his unorthodox subject matter and large-scale landscapes. Growing up in Amsterdam his received his technical training in Holland and is influenced by the historical aspects of European painting. With this background he combines a drive to express current events as subject matter to create compelling and contemporary narratives. A consummate draftsman, he uses plein air and studio still life as the basis for his physical and commanding work. This exhibition is our first that presents a stunning selection of large scale oil paintings. And will depict a variety of subject matter including still life, work from his Fire Station Project, and scenes from New York right after the 9/11 attacks.
Henk Pander studied at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam before moving to Portland in the 1960s. He has worked extensively in theatre set design beginning with the Storefront Theatre in the 1970s-80s and numerous projects for the Portland Center for Performing Arts, OR. His work is well collected privately in the Northwest and is included in the public collections; City of Amsterdam, Netherlands; Oregon Historical Society, Portland; Portland Art Museum, OR; Seattle Convention Center, WA; and University of Oregon Museum of Art, Eugene. Henk was recently honored with a retrospective at The Frye Museum in Seattle, Spectacular Requiem, November 6, 2004 through January 16, 2005.