An Dekker (1931 – September 2012) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, publisher and feminist. Her abstract works of sculpture heavily featured the dynamics of war, peace, and human relationships.

Biography

Dekker was born in the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

in 1931. Her family was involved with the Dutch communist community, and as such fled the country when the Netherlands was

invaded An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives of co ...

and

occupied ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1940. Interested in sculpture from a young age, Dekker was educated at the Dutch Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied in the 1950s. She then moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to further her art career; while in France, she worked in the studio of prominent sculptor

Ossip Zadkine Ossip Alexeevich Zadkine (; 28 January 1888 – 25 November 1967) was a Russian and French artist of the School of Paris. He is best known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs. Early years and education Zadkine was born o ...

. She held her first exhibition in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

in 1953. In 1957, Dekker moved with her husband (a food chemist) to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

; she would live and work there until 1971, and the nation's unique artistic tradition impacted Dekker's perception of art. While in Nigeria, her husband was killed in an accident. Dekker remarried, but this marriage ended in a separation. Dekker moved to London in 1972. While living in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Dekker joined the socialist-feminist Hackney Flashers and became a part of the burgeoning

Women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resulted in g ...

. During the period between her arrival and the mid-1980s, Dekker worked as a graphic designer during this time, and co-founded a collective of female graphic designers. She returned to her native Netherlands in the mid-1980s, where she founded a publishing house in Amsterdam. She and her partner ( Ankie Peypers, a Dutch poet) moved to France in the early 1990s. In 1997, Dekker returned to sculpting, a trade which she continued in until her death in 2003. An Dekker had three daughters, Pyrrol and Titi (Titilola), both of whom died before her own death, and Ninon. She also had a son Tomi.

References

20th-century Dutch sculptors 21st-century Dutch sculptors 1931 births 2012 deaths Dutch graphic designers Dutch women graphic designers Dutch feminists 20th-century Dutch women sculptors 21st-century women sculptors {{Netherlands-artist-stub