Johannes Boekhoudt (Dutch artist. born October 20,1966) in Willemstad, Curaçao Dutch Antilles. His Mother was a Secretary of the Bonaire Government in the Dutch Caribbean. His Father was a businessman. He lived his early years on Bonaire Island. In (1973) Boekhoudt immigrated with his parents to Costa Rica, Central America where he easily blended into the Latin American culture. Later in the 90’s, he become a commercial pilot in Costa Rica and the United States. During his years as a pilot, he briefly worked as an air ambulance pilot and was shocked at the fragility of life and decided that his career as a pilot had run its course. In year (1999), he married Erika and moved to Houston, Texas in the United States. Boekhoudt and his wife have two sons, Nickolas and Christopher. Not satisfied with his previous career, on September 11, (2001) the catastrophic event of 911 inspired him to work towards his dream, to be an expressionist artist and raise his voice through his paintings. Meanwhile, he was certified as an Intra aortic balloon technician, which was a resource to advance his career as a professional artist. During short moves to and from Houston and McAllen, TX, he created small formats of paintings from a makeshift studio in his garage. In (2001) he began to exhibit his work as part of group exhibitions. In (2003), he went to New York for the first time looking for opportunities as an artist. In New York, he presented photos of his artwork produced in Houston, including works in crosses which would later become his signature style. During this visit, he had an opportunity to exhibit at the Venezuelan Consulate art gallery with masters in that period of time. The director of this gallery, Julio Aguilera, is also an artist and suggested that he meet a known private auction dealer. In SOHO of Lower Manhattan in New York City, Boekhoudt met with this private auction dealer in order to have him curate his works. After reviewing his works, the dealer stated that he had not seen the cross style before as presented in the entire painting. He stated that Picasso and other artists have incorporated some crosses into an artwork but not the entire piece. He advised that Boekhoudt dedicate himself to creating more works with the cross technique and stated that if he continued with that style that “You would become later on a well-known artist”.

Now he is best known as the artist of the crosses, a distinctive style made of brushstrokes by which his work can be analyzed. He works in all formats, especially in large oil on linen and canvas. He also creates drawings, mix media works and collages which have become very collectable. After exploring impressionism, pointillism and the cubism style, Boekhoudt finds himself in an abstract world. As an inventive creator, he also makes construction element sculptures out of different materials such as wood and old clock pieces. Boekhoudt is a self-taught international artist. He combines figurative and abstraction elements in his works. Boekhoudt is most heavily influenced by old master painters like Jean Michel Basquiat, Willem de Kooning, Joan Miró and Pablo R. Picasso. The divergence of Boekhoudt’s own style from the masters before him was not easy. He has dedicated many years of perseverance and dedication to the creation of his signature works. He developed a unique style despite the turbulent artistic world. Since the beginning, the core of his works has been his strong ideas on human rights, social justice, children’s rights, and women’s rights. He openly addresses atrocities such as child abuse, domestic violence, organ trafficking, as well as social injustice issues of political instability occurring around the world. In (August 2005) during Houston’s mass evacuation from Hurricane Rita, Boekhoudt took his family to Costa Rica and decided to relocate there. While in Costa Rica, he started painting large formats and had the opportunity to exhibit in a well- established art museum for the first time, the Calderon Guardia Museum. In (2006), he begins to exhibit in solo exhibitions at some art galleries as well as art museums in Central America and the Caribbean. In (2012) Boekhoudt’s family moved to the United States again to Austin, Texas. He quickly realized that he needed to be in a bigger art community and then moved to Dallas, TX. Since then, the unlimited panorama of global events encouraged him to also become a journalist artist, by which documenting those social matters creates an opportunity to empower the younger generation to make a change. Boekhoudt is also a philanthropist and an art collector. His fulfills his humanitarian vision by donating his works for charity auctions to support children in need and other social nonprofit entities.Boekhoudt is constantly developing new projects and shows no signs of stopping. He currently lives and works in his art studio in Texas. During the (2020) pandemic, Boekhoudt has continued to produce artworks in addition to participate in interviews by prestigious art magazines and online media. Boekhoudt’s work is included in a number of public and private collections nationally and internationally, most notably:

AAM – African American Museum of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, USA

JDM – The Jesuit Dallas Museum, Dallas, Texas, USA

MBA – Museum of Biblical Art of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, USA

MAMCM – Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno Carlos Mérida in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

MARTE – Museo de Arte del Salvador in San Salvador, El Salvador

MAM – Museo de Arte Moderno in Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

MUSECAL – Museo Histórico Dr. Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia in San José, Costa Rica.