Sam Drukker

From 10 April to 17 July 2022, the Drents Museum will present no less than 100 self-portraits by the artist Sam Drukker in the Abbey Church. The retrospective Sam Drukker - The Man in the Mirror features paintings, drawings and lithographs by Drukker from 1980 to the present day. This is the first time that his self-portraits have been highlighted in this way. Visitors can also watch a film about the artist in the Abbey Church. 

Sam Drukker (1957) has been an artist for forty years this year. He paints man in all his facets in his characteristic, self-willed way. Drukker portrays those portrayed with accurate brushstrokes. The inner world and imperfection are central to his work. In addition to canvas, he uses old materials such as wood, tarpaulins, awnings and army tents. By now, he has made hundreds of paintings and drawings, mainly of people. He is often the model himself. Sam Drukker: 'I have made a selection of 180 self-portraits for the exhibition. I make them to practice, to try and reflect. When I paint myself, I dare to experiment more. It is a sensation to see all the works together now.

The man in the mirror
The design of the exhibition is in the hands of Peter de Kimpe, who previously made exhibitions for the Van Gogh Museum and the Groninger Museum. Drukker's self-portraits are grouped in a very special way in the exhibition. The highlight is a panorama wall with 25 paintings, which together seem to form a bird's eye view. The mirror wall opposite makes it spectacular. The exhibition will be accompanied by the film of the same name, The Man in the Mirror by Ben Geraerts, Lena Drukker and Erik Verhulst, which was made in collaboration with the Drents Museum. On 15 May, Sam Drukker will give a lecture in the Drents Museum. More information about the peripheral programme will soon be available at drentsmuseum.nl 

Sam Drukker
Sam Drukker was born in Goes and grew up in Assen. He studied at Minerva Academy in Groningen, where his teachers included Matthijs Röling. Drukker lives and works in Amsterdam, where he also teaches at the Wackers Academy. His first museum exhibition Dames en Heren (Ladies and Gentlemen) was in 1999 in the Drents Museum. Many exhibitions later at home and abroad, the artist is back in the Drents Museum, now with exclusively self-portraits. For the exhibition Unlimited - Self-Portraits, Drukker has also selected more than fifty selfportraits by other painters from his own collection. This selection can be seen in the Drents Museum until 4 September. At the same time, Museum Jan in Amstelveen is showing Sam Drukker - Onderweg (On the road), an exhibition of paintings made between 2010 and 2021, until 26 June.

Publication
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication of the same name, Sam Drukker. The man in the mirror. Self-portraits (WBOOKS, Zwolle). Both the exhibition and the publication present 100 self-portraits by Drukker from the past 40 years. The book contains several text contributions, including from Arnon Grunberg and J.B. Matto. The publication costs €24.95 and will be available from 10 April 2022 at the Museum Shop in the Drents Museum and in bookshops.

Museum Jan
The exhibition Sam Drukker - Onderweg in Museum JAN displays paintings and drawings by artist Sam Drukker (1957, Goes) made between 2010 and 2021. Drukker is known for his portraits, which he paints with loose brushstrokes on old and found materials. In his work, he captures people in all their different facets. Uncertainty, strength, beauty and old age can be seen in paintings in which the people portrayed appear to be on the move; sometimes deliberately and sometimes uprooted, with a destination as yet unknown.