His Life

Ever since Bernard de Wolff was a little boy, he was fascinated by nature. He was part of the boy scout association, close to his parental house in Amsterdam, and loved growing up learning about nature. In nature he felt free, he admired the wildlife and was especially drawn to birds and their freedom to explore the world.

At a young age he read books that took him to distant regions and made him wonder about what else was out there, behind the forest bordering the balcony of his parental house. When he was not exploring nature or reading books, he was painting.

Bernard always knew he wanted to become an artist and started painting at a young age. At first drawing and works with gouache, but soon he switched to oil paint. His work has changed a lot over time. Each destination gave him a new perspective and you can easily see the different ages and places in his works of art. A nextdoor neighbour of his parental house in Amsterdam, who originated from Surinam, Latin America, sparked his imagination with his exotic treasures. Wood carved sculptures from the jungle, snakes and other animals kept on strong water and hammocks hung across his apartment. A few years later, his parents, his brother and Bernard left Amsterdam. Bernards father, took a job in Germany and they moved to a city close to the German border.

Bernard de Wolff studied Art History at the University of Amsterdam between 1982 and 1988. During his study he focussed on classical archeology, cultural anthropology, theatrical media, aesthetics and cultural philosophy. In 1988 he graduated as an art historian. During the 1980s Bernard worked on several video productions. One of his clients was the Allard Pierson museum in Amsterdam. His project, “De streling” (“The caress”) was nominated for the Sony Video Awards and his contribution “De Olympische Orde” (“The Olympic Order”) was selected for the NVWFT Media price. For these projects, Bernard was also in charge of writing the scenario and the music. 

During his Art History studies, he met a few people that would have a significant impact on his life. His best friend Hans Min, who later he co-created small bronze statues with, and some inspiring people at the Allard Pierson museum, the famous university archeology museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. During his first year of study he had his first exhibition at an art gallery in The Hague in the Netherlands where he sold his first few oil paintings. Because of his artistic view, his literacy, his still developing knowledge of art history and his adoration of films, such as the movies from Buñuel, Fellini, Eisenstein, Visconti and Godard, he was asked to produce videos for the Allard Pierson museum. Bernard enjoyed creating these productions and just as in his canvasses he made his creativity come to life.

After graduating his studies, Bernard de Wolff further developed himself as a painter. During the 1990s his art exhibitions led him to the United States where he lectured on the art of painting landscapes. Important to his artistic development were his journeys to Surinam and Brazil. Also the city life of Amsterdam and Paris are an important source of daily inspiration for his work.

In 1988 Bernard graduated his studies while still working on his paintwork skills. He had multiple exhibitions a year and because of an artist friend he got more familiar with the Latin American country Surinam, where he would spend a decade from the late nineties onwards and fulfilled one of his dreams by building a house in a country in the Amazon. During the early 00’s his artworks started to lift off and he traveled back and forth between Paramaribo, the capital of Surinam, and Amsterdam. In 2010 the time had come to start working on accomplishing his third dream. Living and working in Paris, the capital of the arts, the city of lights and the city of love. For centuries Paris has been attracting artists from all over the world and Bernard is no exemption. In Paris his artworks were exhibited at international art fairs and multiple art galleries all over the city.