Jan-Willem van Oldeneel

 

Jan-Willem van Oldeneel (Nijmegen, 1957) is a sculptor who lives and works in Laren (NH). He was trained as an industrial designer and business administrator, and works on both commissioned and independent projects.

His oeuvre includes sculpted portraits of people and animals in ceramic or bronze, ranging from plaques and busts to full figures and groups. In addition, he creates sculptures and objects for special occasions – such as graduation, a wedding, anniversary, opening, farewell, or in memory of a deceased person – as well as medals and items for ecclesiastical use, including altars and candlesticks.

He works with diverse materials such as cast aluminium, cast iron, bronze, and silver, but also with blown or flat glass, worked wood, natural stone, or combinations thereof. He gained his experience with glass as a product manager at Glasfabriek Leerdam. His glass objects are blown at Van Tetterode Glasobjecten and De Glasblazerij Leerdam.

In 2024, in collaboration with the local community in Suriname, he realised the four-meter-high monument for Boekoe, made of cast aluminium and greenheart wood, commemorating the history of slavery.

In addition, Van Oldeneel was active as a military reservist for several years. In this capacity, he created, among other things, a monument for the fallen soldiers in Mali, and recently made the National Veterans' Monument for the Netherlands.