Willehad Eilers

Willehad Eilers, known professionally as Wayne Horse, is a German artist based in Amsterdam.[1]

Early life and career

Willehad Eilers was born in 1981 in Peine, Germany.[2] He graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie and completed a residency at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam.[3]

Eilers produces multidisciplinary projects that combine graffiti, animation, and installation, often presenting figurative and narrative elements.[4][5] He has exhibited internationally, including at Harlan Levey Project,[6] Unruly Gallery,[7] Mediamatic[8] and This is Mama (Kunsthal Rotterdam).[9] In 2007, he presented the work Elefant Boy at the Impakt Festival,[10] which incorporated animation and storytelling techniques. Eilers' solo exhibitions include Happy Holidays Forever (2018)[11] and Alter Senator (2016).[12]

His work is held in collections such as the Lisser Art Museum,[13] Völklinger Hütte[14] and Colección SOLO.[15]

Eilers designed the WNF Vijfje, a Dutch 5-euro commemorative coin issued in 2011 to mark the 50th anniversary of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The design features a stylized tree spanning both sides of the coin, with the canopy and a linear portrait of Queen Beatrix on the obverse and the root system on the reverse.[16][17]

His film Alter Senator was featured in the 2016 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).[18]

In 2023 Eilers published the artist book A Dance on the Knife’s Edge with the German publishing house KERBER Verlag in collaboration with Galerie Droste.[19][20]

Critical reception

Critics and curators have described Eilers’ work as a form of “ethnographic surrealism,”[21] a term used in exhibition texts and reviews to characterize his combination of surreal imagery with observations of social and everyday life.[22][23][24]

References to Eilers’ work appear in art magazines,[25] exhibition catalogues, and festival descriptions. His show Love Boat at Galerie Droste (2021) is listed in Monopol Magazin.[26]

Institutional press lists and gallery announcements indicate ongoing critical engagement with his work across Europe.[27] Listings include coverage of "Alle Gegen Alle" in Dutch arts and culture magazine Mister Motley[28] and an article titled La morale d’une orgie monstrueuse in La Libre (2023).[29]

References

  1. ^ Redactie, VICE (1 January 1970). "MAXI MEETS WAYNE HORSE". VICE (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Willehad Eilers / Wayne Horse". Solo Contemporary. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Willehad Eilers, 2009". Rijksakademie (in Dutch). 15 April 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Willehad Eilers". Blind Walls Gallery (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Artists". Kino der Kunst. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Willehad Eilers & Philip Mueller at Harlan Levey Projects". Art Viewer. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  7. ^ Gallery, Unruly. "Willehad Eilers / Wayne Horse". Unruly Gallery. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Wayne Horse". Mediamatic (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  9. ^ "The Kids Are All Right". MaMA. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  10. ^ "German Swinehundt in Rotterdam". MaMA. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  11. ^ "HAPPY HOLIDAYS FOREVER - Overview". Galerie Droste. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  12. ^ www.oberon.nl, Oberon Amsterdam. "Alter Senator (2015) | IDFA Archive". IDFA. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  13. ^ "Willehad Eilers - Biography, Shows, Articles & More". Artsy. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Wayne Horse". Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  15. ^ "Willehad Eilers / Wayne Horse". Solo Contemporary. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Nederland 5 euro 2011 (coincard - munt met een missie) "50 jaar Wereld Natuur Fonds" KM# 305 (2011) - Nederland". LastDodo (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  17. ^ "september 2011 – Euromunten Blog" (in Dutch). 19 September 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  18. ^ www.oberon.nl, Oberon Amsterdam. "Alter Senator (2015) | IDFA Archive". IDFA. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  19. ^ "WILLEHAD EILERS / WAYNE HORSE: TANZ AUF DER KLINGE - HUG ME". Galerie Droste. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  20. ^ "A dance on the knife's edge – COPE Studio". Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  21. ^ "The latest Blind Walls in Breda". www.explorebreda.com. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  22. ^ Villalonga, Carlos (18 August 2022). "Willehad Eilers: La belleza surge de los defectos". INFOMAG MAGAZINE (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  23. ^ "IKS-Institut für Kunstdokumentation und Szenografie - News". www.iks-medienarchiv.de. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  24. ^ "Willehad Eilers: Bored to be Alive | Exhibitions | MutualArt". www.galeriedroste.de. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  25. ^ "Stickit". www.stickit.nl. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  26. ^ "Willehad Eilers — Love Boat | Monopol". www.monopol-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  27. ^ "Wayne Horse - COEVAL Magazine". COEVAL. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  28. ^ "Hoogstaande muurschilderingen in onconventionele ruimtes; hoe 4 kunstwerken de standaard doorbreken". Mister Motley (in Dutch). 25 May 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  29. ^ Gribaumont, Gwennaëlle (4 February 2026). "La morale d'une orgie monstrueuse". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 3 February 2026.
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