Willem van Genk

Willem van Genk (1927–2005) was a Dutch artist and a leading representative of what is known as Art Brut. He briefly attended the Royal Academy of Art in Den Haag but left without obtaining a degree. Railroad stations play a central role in his graphically complex oeuvre. Van Genk’s work has been shown at the American Folk Art Museum, New York, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and elsewhere.

During the Second World War, van Genk’s father was active in the resistance to the German occupiers. He was apprehended and subjected to violent interrogation by the Gestapo; it remains unclear whether Willem was merely present or interrogated as well. Many of his works reflect his experiences during the occupation, grappling with repressive authority. Frankfurt (1950) and Bruxelles Central (1994), for example, feature swastikas.