Artist Information
Artist
Maarten SchaddeleeRole
ArtistDate made
2016Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Holland, Maarten Schaddelee immigrated to Victoria in 1955. Schaddelee trained and worked as a master cake decorator and baker at the family-owned/run Dutch Bakery in downtown Victoria, B.C, for 28 years. After many years of carving in his spare time, Schaddelee decided to focus full-time on his art. His works in wood and stone often address themes of compassion, peace, and unity through the forms of the birds and animals on the West Coast. He has become known for his whales, eagles, dolphins and other wildlife, both large and small.
His early works were part of the Royal B.C. Museum's "Whales, The Enduring Legacy" exhibition, 1997-1998. Two of these sculptures are now installed at The University of Victoria. His work was featured in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s exhibit "Form and Spirit". His sculptures have also been chosen for local public installations such as his “Westcoast Spirit” at Upper Harbour Place, as well as Sister Cities Suzhou, China, Morioka, Japan and Khabarovsk, Russia. He has also joined celebrated B.C. artists at the "Painters at Painter's Lodge", Campbell River, B.C. and in 2007 completed his ambitious "Doorways to Spirit" project, an architectural construction of 16 doors each representing a faith tradition in the world, which has since been on tour.