Ruud van Empel was born in Breda in 1958. After graduating from Breda’s St. Joost School of Art and Design in 1981 he moved to Amsterdam, where he started creating art using the photocollage technique, initially using analogue photographs and a photocopier. He later switched to image manipulation software.
Van Empel received commissions from the illustrious TV comedy duo Theo & Thea, and designed sets for their theatre show De Flessentrekrevue. He was also art director on their feature film Theo en Thea en de ontmaskering van het tenenkaasimperium.
Global recognition came with his Study in Green series of 2003-2004, Untitled of 2004 and the closely related series World, Moon and Venus. Van Empel’s breakthrough in the United States also prompted Dutch museums to showcase and purchase his work. During his successful career Van Empel has received several awards, including the St Joost Award 1981, the Charlotte Kolher Award 1993, H.N. Werkmann Award 2001 and the Breda Oeuvre Award 2013.
The work of Ruud van Empel features in a number of leading collections, including those of the Rijksmuseum and Groninger Museum, Museum Voorlinden, George Eastman House in Rochester NY, Generali Foundation in Vienna, FNAC Collection in Paris, the Sir Elton John Photography Collection in London, UK and the MoPA Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, USA.