Paul Bodoni

Paul Bodoni Derksen was born in Ouderkerk, along the Amstel river in Holland. He attended the Rietveld Academie from 1970 until he was kicked out in 1974. He has been working on 'Het Gilgamesj Epos' (the work of his life) since he was sixteen. He worked a couple of years with the children's street theatre, making 'street comics' ('straatstrips', drawings made 'live' on the street), that dealt with neighborhood problems in a humorous way.

Bodoni published illustrations and strips in magazines such as Aloha, Oor, Hitkrant, Jippo, Okki, Taptoe, Hello you!, Ezelsoor, de Vrije Balloen/de Balloen, de Kraakkrant, Gezellig en Leuk, Leesblad de Mensch, and Het Parool newspaper. He also made bookcovers, graphic design, logo-types, affiches and much more. "De verschrikkelijke Bodoni" has been making art all of his life, which is shown from time to time.

Between 1977 and 1983 Paul was a Vrije Balloen/Balloen editor and artist. He was chairman of the 'Drawing Factory' ('De Tekenfabriek') and publishing house Gezellig en Leuk from 1984 to 1988. In that same period he also was an editor together with René Windig, Aart Clerkx and Eddie de Jong for 'Uitgeverij Gezellig en Leuk'. He moved to Sweden in 1988 and has been living near Stockholm in a shared home and has been working with youth who have psychiatric and psycho/social problems. Bodoni has never stopped drawing on the edge and the end of the world.