Hans van der Ham

Hans van der Ham studied classical piano at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Utrecht Conservatory (graduated 1984). He then studied autonomous art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam where he graduated with paintings, drawings and graphics (graduated 1989). However, Van der Ham was mainly active for more than 30 years as a sculptor and became known for his black clay sculptures. Vulnerable souls, wrapped in rock hard material. But his indefinable worlds on paper, made of gouache or black ink, also characterize his oeuvre. Until 2020, the need arose to return to his old metier and to make a new start from the spatial work with paintings in various formats. Van der Ham has been working as an independent visual artist in Rotterdam since 1989 and regularly has exhibitions at home and abroad. His work is represented by the Stigter Van Doesburg gallery, Amsterdam and the KANT gallery, Copenhagen (DK). His work is included in various museum and corporate collections. In 2012, Van der Ham cofounded Garage Rotterdam, together with a Rotterdam patron, where he was responsible until 2015 as curator and artistic director. Van der Ham makes exhibitions on a regular basis, including for Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: as a guest curator in 2018 he produced the exhibition ANIMA MUNDI. More info: www.hansvanderham.nl/info