Peter VandenBerge
American, born Netherlands, born 1935Colonel Wetneck of the East Indies, 1977
Not on view
Polychrome earthenware
Dimensions68 × 28 × 17 1/2 in. (172.7 × 71.1 × 44.5 cm)
Gift of Dr. Robert and Deanna Harris Burger, 2015.73
Since the 1970s Peter VandenBerge has been creating oversized ceramic busts with objects placed upon their heads. He got the inspiration from gravesites in Bali where small objects would often adorn the tops of the graves to tell a story about the life of the deceased. VandenBerge liked that these small attributes added to the enigmatic story of an individual who may otherwise be unknown.
VandenBerge spent his early years living in Indonesia, eventually moving back to the Netherlands after World War II. He worked under Robert Arneson at the University of California, Davis during the 1960s. He had a long career teaching in California, and is presently Professor Emeritus at California State University, Sacramento.
