Lecture by Willem de Rooij: King Vulture

King Vulture is a lecture on concepts of landownership in the Dutch Empire as visualized by Melchior d’Hondecoeter, Jan Weenix and Dirk Valkenburg, and on how the triangular relationship between them informs Willem de Rooij’s artwork since 17 years.

Willem de Rooij (*1969, Beverwijk, NL) investigates the production, contextualization and interpretation of images through a variety of media. Appropriations and collaborations inform his method, facilitating research in art history and ethnography. Since 2010 Willem de Rooij has been working on the first oeuvre catalogue on the work of Dirk Valkenburg. De Rooij’s installation Valkenburg, containing original works, and the catalogue are to be presented at Centraal Museum Utrecht in early 2025.
De Rooij tutors at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and is founding director of BPA// Berlin program for artists. Recent solo exhibitions were staged at Portikus Frankfurt, IMA Brisbane, Consortium Dijon and the Jewish Museum, New York. Recent group exhibitions include the BDL Museum, Mumbai, the Hammer Museum Los Angeles, Jakarta Biennale, Aishti Foundation, Beirut, and the 10th Shanghai Biennale.