Van Loon, Johan

Johan van Loon is born in Rotterdam on October 29, 1934. Between 1952 and 1956 he is visiting the Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs (now Gerrit Rietveld Academie) in Amsterdam, direction textile design. In 1958 he continued training with lessons in ceramics from Jos Eppens van Veen. From 1957 till 1960 he is visiting the Konsthaendvaerkerskole in Copenhagen (DK), specialised in printing textiles. Between 1957 and 1962 Johan van Loon is the designer for curtaincloth with Weverij De Ploeg in Bergeyk. Around 1960 Johan gets more interested in ceramics. He meets with the potter Thera Hofstede Crull and has been taught by her in throwing. In 1960 he is traveling to Scandinavia, working for Arabia Finland in the ceramic studio of Kylikki Salmenhaara. From 1961 till 1962 he has been taught in throwing porcelain by Dame Lucie Rie at the Camberwell Art School in Londen. In the period 1963 and 1964 he is working with Stig Lindberg at the Konstfackskolan in Stockholm. In 1966 Johan starts his own studio in Hengelo (Ov.). In the period 1976 and 1977 he makes unica porcelain objects for Royal Copenhagen. From 1966 till 1986 he is teaching in the field of ceramics and textiles at various Academies in the Netherlands. From 1977 till 1986 he is a teacher at the Academie St. Joost in Breda (NL). From 1980 till 1997 Johan van Loon is also designer for Rosenthal AG in Selb (DE). In 1986 Johan becomes a member of the International Academy for Ceramics and opens the ceramic department at the AKI in Enschede (NL). In 1994 Van Loon starts to work with glass at the Studio Oude Horn in Acquoy (NL). Between 1994 and 1995 he is a visiting teacher in various schools in Germany, f.e. the Hochschule für Kunst und Design Burg Giebichenstein in Halle (DE) and in 1995 he is the visiting teacher at the Institut für künstlerische Keramik, Höhr-Grenzhausen. In 1998 Johan van Loon is working in the Europese Keramisch Werk Centrum in Den Bosch (NL). Johan van Loon is living and working in Breda (NL).

Pictures: Johan van Loon at the wheel, 1962; portrait taken at the opening of an exhibition at Focke + Meltzer Amsterdam; portrait taken from the book Het Kapelhuis in Amersfoort; portrait in kleur circa 2010 (courtesy of the artist, from his website); huge vase in porcelain (coll. Capriolus) and cover of catalogue exhibition Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1977.

• Achterbergh, J.W.N. van, ‘Over Johan van Loon of de triomf ener afzijdige beïnvloeding’, in: Mededelingenblad Vrienden van de Nederlandse Ceramiek , nr. 34, 1964.
• Houtzager, Dr. M. Elisabeth, Nederlandse Ceramiek 1945-1970 , Centraal Museum.
• Catalogus Twelve Dutch Potters, The Octagon, Ames, Iowa, May 9 to June 16, 1971.
• Catalogus bij de expositie in Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1978.
• Keramiekkollektie, met een inleiding van Karin Gaillard, dienst Beeldende Kunst, s-Hertogenbosch, 1983.
• Nederlandse keramiek 85 De Elleboogkerk – expositiebrochure , Amersfoort 1985.
• Bestandscatalogus Nederlandse na-oorlogse keramiek , RBK 1995.
• Johan van Loon (1934), aanwinst, in: Keramika no.2 1992.
• Hidding, Allaard, ‘Johan van Loon, retrospectief’, in: Keramika no.2 1996.
• Köster, Caroline, Benedikt und Gabriele, Keramik aus Kösters Kunstkammer , 1999, p.102.
• Spruit-Ledeboer, Mieke en Dorris U. Kuyken-Schneider, De zes Amsterdamse pottenbakkers opnieuw bijeen , Oosterbeek 2000.
• Loon, Johan van, Johan van Loon, Performance in material , Breda 2005.
• Koch, André, e.a. Galerie Kapelhuis, dertig jaar vernieuwing in de toegepaste kunst 1960-1990, Uitgeverij 010, Rotterdam 2003.
• Baas, Fredric, ‘Een spel zonder regels – Levenswerk no.5, Johan van Loon’, in: Keramika no. 3. 2007.
• Thormann, Olaf, Gefäss / Skulptur – Vessel / Sculpture ; Keramik / Ceramics seit / since 1946 Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig, 2013.
• Verweij, Jolien, ‘Johan van Loon 80 jaar kunstenaar en keramist’ in: Vormen uit Vuur , 226, 2014.