Jan de Fouw

Biography

 

Born in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan de Fouw was trained as a graphic designer at the Royal College of Art, The Hague. He worked as a trainee designer for KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) from 1947 to 1949. After his Dutch army military service (1949–1951), he travelled throughout Europe. He settled in Dublin in 1951 and started to work as a free-lance designer with a Bauhaus background. He initially joined Graphic Studio Dublin in 1964 and was instrumental in setting up the Black Church Print Studio in 1982. His printed works are mainly copperplate colour etchings of medium format, which reflect man’s relationship with nature and the elements.

 

Poetry sometimes accompanies the imagery, as in the book Amergin, published in 2000 by Wolfhound Press, Dublin. More recently he has been experimenting with bronze sculpture focusing on similar concerns. From 1952 to 1996 he worked as freelance design director of the bi-monthly magazine Ireland of the Welcomes. He is a three-time award winner from the International Regional Magazine Association, USA. He was awarded Honoris Causa Associateship of the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1991. He has lectured at the College of Marketing and Design, Dublin and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire. He has participated in countless group shows both nationally and internationally, including exhibitions in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Boston, Toronto, Sydney, Beijing, Hang Zhou and here in Dublin. He is a regular exhibitor at the RHA Annual Exhibition, Dublin.