Lambertus (Berry) van Boekel

Berry van Boekel is a Fort Myers, Florida-based artist. His intensely obsessive ongoing project documenting the bands and musicians he listens to, has developed an avid following of art collectors, curators and music fans around the world.

Van Boekel writes “In February 1983, aged 18 years old—in the midst of exploring music, I made a chart of the 10 tracks that I’d enjoyed most. Then three days later I made another one and I’ve continued to do so every three or four days since. At the end of each year I collect all charts and compile a list of 100 songs from it. In 1986 I started to illustrate the lists, first with a copy machine but soon I started to draw. The Top 100 of 1991 was the first in which all one hundred entries were drawn by hand. I have claimed many times that a particular year was going to be the last one but instead I continue with more zeal every year.”

Firmly rooted in portraiture and figure painting, his work nonetheless is able explore a variety of stylistic approaches. The simple elegant concept of the list not only allows for experimentation with a wide range of musical tastes but also gives van Boekel license to evoke different moods and sensibilities within the paintings.

Van Boekel has exhibited with the prestigious alternative non-profit space White Columns in New York, other exhibition venues include Skylab in Columbus; Country Club Projects in Cincinnati, Peel Gallery in Houston; Tempus Projects in Tampa, with the NADA Art Fair in Miami, and most recently at the Dublin Arts Council in Ohio. Van Boekel moved to the United States in 1993 from the Netherlands. He received an MFA from The Ohio State University. Recently van Boekel opened The Top 100 Archive and Studio, a space near downtown Fort Myers dedicated to the history of his Top 100 project.