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 Werden is a southern borough of the city of Essen in Germany. It belongs to the city district ''IX Werden/Kettwig/Bredeney'' and has 9,998 inhabitants as of June 30, 2006. The borough occupies a space of and is situated at a median height of . __ ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 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 The Ziller Valley (german: Zillertal) is a valley in Tyrol, Austria that is drained by the Ziller River. It is the widest valley south of the Inn Valley (german: Inntal) and lends its name to the Zillertal Alps, the strongly glaciated section of t ...

in the

Austrian Alps The Central Eastern Alps (german: Zentralalpen or Zentrale Ostalpen), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps (german: Österreichische Zentralalpen) or just Central Alps, comprise the main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent ...

. There he was arrested by German state security, transferred to a war tribunal in Holzkirchen, and sent to the

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

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 Riederalp () is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It was created in 2003 through the merger of Goppisberg, Greich and Ried-Mörel.Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, the

Canary islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

(

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

), and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. In 1967, Dreesen moved to Brig-Glis, Switzerland, where he took residency in the art studio previously occupied by Alfred Gruenwald. 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.

Artistic career and exhibitions

Dreesen began his

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

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. * Galerie "zur Matze",

Stockalper Castle The Stockalper Palace (German: ''Stockalperpalast'') is a castle in Brig-Glis, Switzerland. It was built between 1658 and 1678 by Kaspar Stockalper, a silk merchant of Brig. The Stockalper Palace was the largest private construction in Switzerl ...

, Brig. * Galerie "Taugwalder",

Zermatt Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO). ...

, 1970. * Galerie "zur Matze",

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

, 1974. * Galerie "vor der Klostermauer",

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

, 1976. * Galerie "zur Schutzenlaube",

Visp Visp (french: Viège) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of ...

, Switzerland, 1980 . * Galerie "zur Schutzenlaube",

, Switzerland, 1982 . * GSMBA exhibition,

Steg The Imperial Royal Privileged Austrian State Railway Company (German: ''k. k. privilegierte österreichische Staatseisenbahn-Gesellschaft''), from 1 January 1883 the Privileged Austro-Hungarian State Railway Company (''privilegierte österreic ...

, 1984 . * Galerie "zur Schutzenlaube,

, Switzerland, 1985. * Galerie "zur Matze",

, Switzerland, 1988 (in celebration of his 60 birthday) . During this early period, Dreesen used mostly

acrylic paints Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depe ...

, 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 Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

. He also started creating wooden sculptures and constructions.

References

External links

* http://www.willidreesen.ch * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreesen, Willi 1928 births 2013 deaths Swiss painters People from Brig-Glis