Richard Willenbrink, M.F.A.

Richard Willenbrink is an American painter from Chicago now living in Prague. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, earning a B.F.A. and received his M.F.A. degree from Northern Illinois University. He was represented by Sonia Zaks Gallery in Chicago and exhibited frequently during the 80’s and 90’s in both solo and group exhibitions, eventually being regarded as one of the leading figure painters in Chicago during this period. In 1986 he became an adjunct professor of painting at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), and in 1998 he received funding for a painting residency in Prague. He continued as an adjunct professor with SAIC while remaining in Prague as director of a joint studio program between students from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague from 2000 to 2012. His paintings still maintain the same forthright engagement with the human figure as they did in Chicago, but now with a strong influence from Central European art history and culture.

European and American Painting: Materials, Techniques and Theory; American Culture, Painting and Architecture

Art Studio: The Figure in Central European Expressionism, Art Studio: Expressionism in the 20th century from Central Europe to America

School of Humanities & Social Sciences; Department of Art, Culture and Social Studies