From 18 September 2026 to 7 February 2027, the exhibition Hella de Jonge – Dichter bij hun ziel is on view at Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam, with paintings by Hella de Jonge in which personal history and collective memory come together. In her work she explores the lasting effects of war and family past, and gives a voice to those who are missing or were kept silent. Intimate and universal, connecting and comforting.
The youth of Hella de Jonge (1949) was devoted to creativity. She dances, plays the violin and follows an art education at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. After receiving devastating comments from fellow students on one of her first paintings, she chooses the disciplines of goldsmithing and fashion. After her education she begins as a sculptor. From 1980 onward she also makes sets and costumes for the solo performances of her great love, cabaret artist Freek de Jonge.
Family history In 2020, during corona, Hella finally starts painting. It becomes a search for her family history. Through painting, Hella gets to know the family she never met.