About - Henriette Boerendans

It’s nice and quiet there, with the Northern light coming in and a view of the surrounding rooftops.

Henriette Boerendans studied art at the Kunst Academie in The Hague, The Netherlands, specializing in woodcut printing. She started out with landscapes, but concentrated more and more on making picture books. Her workshop is situated in an Amsterdam attic. It’s nice and quiet there, with the Northern light coming in and a view of the surrounding rooftops. There are gouges and chisels, and there’s an etching press weighing 500 kilograms that Henriette uses for printing. Printing is a singular form of art, time-consuming yet rewarding. In her woodcuts, Henriette always strives for harmony, strong compositions and a melancholy note.

Henriette’s apartment is underneath the workshop. She is single-handedly raising two children, Doesjka (2001) and Matthijs (2003), who provide excellent feedback for her work.

Henriette’s ideal picture book is a clear book that teaches young children in an unobtrusive way. She tries to incorporate elements of games in all of her books, like in her numbers book, in which animals and their footprints can be counted. According to her, young children are image thinkers, slowly being pushed into a language-based world. That’s why toddlers and preschoolers are her favourites. She hopes to speak to them in a language of imagery befitting this phase of their development, and to help them organize and expand their world through colours and shapes.

CV

Studies

Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. Painting, drawing, printing.
Witte Lelie, Amsterdam. Theory of education, history of art.

Awards

2017 | nomination Woutertje Pieterse Prijs, Monkey Bear Zebra
2016 | shortlist Nami Concours, South Korea, Sleeping animals
2016 | longlist Jan Wolkers Prijs, Monkey Bear Zebra
2014 | Vlag en Wimpel children’s book award, Zero is a strange number
2014 | IBBY Hounorlist, Zero is a strange number
2003 | Kwak, Ronday, van Daalen Print Award
2002 | nomination Dutch Print Award
1998 | nomination Dutch Print Award

Public collections:

Queen Beatrix
Rijksmuseum
Museum Prinsenhof Delft
Österbottens Museum, Finland
Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo, Japan
Mead Art Museum, Massachussetts, America
Amsterdam Courthouse
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
ING Bank

International exhibitions

2020 | Germany, Münchner Stadtmuseum, Bücherschau Junior, ausstellung Affe Bär Zebra
2019 | Bratislava, Slovakia, Biennale of illustrations
2019 | Beijing, China, Xuyuan International Print Biennial
2019 | Trois Rivieres, Québec , Canada, Biennale d’estampe contemporaine
2017 | Slovakia, Bratislava, illustration Biennial
2017 | South Korea, Nami, Nami Concours
2016 | Germany, International Youth Library Munich, ABC books
2016 | China, travelling exhibition, Children’s Books
2016 | Slovakia, Bratislava, illustration Biennial
2016 | Japan, Tokyo, Itabashi Art Museum, Children’s books
2016 | Japan, Ishikawa, Nanao Art Museum, Children’s books
2015 | Italy, Bologna, Children’s Book Fair, Illustrators exhibition
2012 | Austria, Graz, Literaturhaus Graz
2009 | Canada, Quebec, Shawanigan, Passport to Holland
2007 | Belgium, Liège, Modern and Contemporary Art Museum, Print Biennial
2005 | Germany, Ludwigsburg, Contemporary woodcut
2003 | Canada, Quebec, Trois Rivières, Contemporary Print Biennial
1999 | Norway, Frederikstad, Print Triennial
1999 | Bulgary, Varna, Print Triennial
1998 | Finland, Vaassa, Österbottens Museum, Print Biennial
1998 | Slovenia Modern Dutch Graphics
1998 | Estland, Tallinn, Print Triennial
1997 | Japan, Sapporo, Museum of Modern Art, Print Triennial

Exhibitions in the Netherlands

Publications