Thé Tjong-Khing: 90 years young
April 7 – September 11, 2023
Thé Tjong-Khing is one of the Netherlands' best known and most loved children's book illustrators. But not only that, he has also left his unique mark on Dutch comics history. In honor of his 90th birthday on August 4, 2023, the exhibition provides a broad and up-to-date overview of his oeuvre to date, from the first drawings from his student days in Bandung to his most recent project with Arnon Grunberg.
In his nearly 70-year professional career, Khing has created dozens of comics and many thousands of illustrations for magazines, book covers and children's books. are among his most famous works Arman and Ilvac, Iris (both with Lo Hartog van Banda), Little Sofie and Lange Wapper (with Els Pelgrom), Fox and Hare (with Sylvia Vanden Heede), the Where's the cake?picture book series and BOSCH batteries and motors. In 1984, one of his short comic strips, Sister Lydia and happiness, adapted into a short film for television. For his children's book illustrations he received several Golden and Silver Brushes, the Woutertje Pieterse Prize, the Max and the German Youth Literature Prize.
Khing is admired by countless generations of comics, book and children's book readers, and adored by his peers. But all this has not gone to his head, and he has no intention of resting on his laurels: the modest artist still sits behind his drawing table, whether for a new collaboration with Grunberg or a personal project . Because there are still so many stories to tell…
Exhibition
Examples from all phases of Khing's life can be seen in the exhibition. Attention is paid to the creative process of the comic strip, and the great influence of cinema on the comic strip work of the film connoisseur Thé Tjong-Khing. And of course there are also the well-known children's book illustrations, often original drawings and previously unexhibited work. And also come and see unique figurines of characters from the stop motion animation series Fox and Hare.
Thé Tjong-Khing: 90 years young - until September 10, 2023
This exhibition is made possible in part by the Mondriaan Fund, the Netherlands Comic Strip Foundation, the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund, Fonds 21 and the Municipality Haarlem
NH News:
The Netherlands' most famous illustrator Thé Tjong-Khing: “I can't do anything else” – NH Nieuws
NPO Radio 1 – YouTube:
Tjong-Khing: 'In those days, if you read comics, you were or became stupid'
Pencil cast Thé Tjong-Khing:
Thé Tjong-Khing talks about his work as an illustrator in this episode of the Pencil Cast. Using five images, he talks about his childhood in Indonesia, his first steps on the path as an illustrator in the Netherlands and about working on commission.
Activities
Also view the activities in the context of this exhibition:
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