Willi Dreesen Explained

Willi Dreesen
Caption:Willi Dreesen in 19XX
Birth Name:Wilhelm Dreesen
Birth Date:1928 2, df=y
Birth Place:Essen-Werden, Germany
Death Place:Brig-Glis, Switzerland
Nationality:Swiss
Field:Art, abstract expressionism
Training:Folkwang Universitat der Kunste, Essen, Germany
Movement:Paintings, constructions photography, collage, Abstract Expressionism
Works:Konzert Oper Ballet (1967), Woman, acrylic paint (1999)

Willi Dreesen (16 February 1928 – 5 January 2013) was a Swiss painter and sculptor.

Personal life

Dreesen was born on 16 February 1928 in Essen-Werden, Germany.[1] [2] In 1944, at the age of 16, Dreesen was drafted into the German airplane defense. He escaped from his assignment and fled into the Zillertal in the Austrian Alps. There he was arrested by German state security, transferred to a war tribunal in Holzkirchen, and sent to the concentration camp in Dachau for 3 months until the end of World War II.In 1952, Dreesen crossed through Germany on a bicycle into southern Switzerland. From 1957-1967 Dreesen resided in the Swiss mountain towns of Riederalp and Goppisberg. From there, he traveled throughout Switzerland, Hamburg, Barcelona, the Canary islands (Tenerife), and Senegal. In 1967, Dreesen moved to Brig-Glis, Switzerland, where he took residency in the art studio previously occupied by Alfred Gruenwald.[3] [4] In 1971, he married Vreny Kuhnis, with whom he had 2 sons, Stephan and Oliver. Dreesen lived and worked in Brig-Glis until his death on 5 January 2013.[5]

Artistic career and exhibitions

Dreesen began his apprenticeship as a painter in Germany in 1946. As a child, he developed a keen interest in painting, which included landscapes and portraits. In 1948, Dreesen was admitted to the Folkwang Universitat der Kunste, Essen, Germany and commenced his studies in fine arts. As an adult, Dreesen worked at night painting houses and apartments in war-torn Germany to finance his studies and travels. He moved to Switzerland in 1952. Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Dreesen exhibited his work in various galleries throughout the region.

During this early period, Dreesen used mostly acrylic paints, oil-based materials, and charcoal-based materials. Throughout this period, his paintings depicted mountain scenery and portraits of various regional characters. In the mid to late 1980s, Dreesen's style shifted towards abstract expressionism. He also started creating wooden sculptures and constructions.[13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Home . willidreesen.ch.
  2. Web site: Swiss Institute for Art Research. Willi Dreesen Lexikon.
  3. Web site: Alfred Gruenwald.
  4. Web site: Home . willidreesen.ch.
  5. Web site: Willi Dreesen-Kühnis. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130203055122/http://www.1815.ch/files/81284_0.pdf. 2013-02-03.
  6. Web site: Kunstverein Oberwallis.
  7. Web site: Galerie zur Matze. Austellung Willi Dreesen 1969.
  8. Web site: Galerie Taugwalder Zermatt. Eroffnungsaustellung. February 1970.
  9. Web site: Galerie Taugwalder, Zermatt. Austellung Willi Dreesen 1970.
  10. Web site: Galerie zur Matze. Austellung Willi Dreesen 1974.
  11. Web site: Galerie vor der Klostermauer. Austellung Willi Dreesen 1976.
  12. Web site: Galerie zur Schutzenlaube. Willi Dreesen Austellung 1985.
  13. Web site: Willi Dreesen's Atelier - Konstruktionen .