The Story of Roderick Wit
From building the ground up to building worlds of my own.
House of Wit is the creative world of Roderick Wit, a Dutch sculptor and painter whose work is shaped by craftsmanship, curiosity and a lifelong passion for making things by hand.
WHERE IT STARTED
I grew up in the Netherlands, where creativity and making things were always close to me. One of the earliest things that sparked my imagination was the world of carnival. I was fascinated by the enormous floats and the people who built them, and eventually I wanted to create something myself.
But before art became my profession, I learned to work with my hands in a very different environment.
I started working for my father's contracting company, C. Wit & Zn. I began with hands-on work in earthmoving, then moved on to operating tractors and excavators. Later, I worked as a site supervisor and estimator.
Those years taught me things that still influence me today: how materials behave, how things are constructed, how to solve problems when something doesn't go according to plan, and the value of doing things properly.
Most importantly, I learned to make and build.
FROM BUILDING TO CREATING
Alongside that practical world, my fascination with creating continued to grow.
I became increasingly interested in sculpture, painting, decoration and the transformation of materials. As a self-taught artist, I learned mainly by doing — experimenting, making mistakes, solving problems and trying again.
That way of learning is still at the heart of my work today.
THEATRE
My path eventually led me into the world of theatre.
Working in theatre brought together many of the things I had learned: craftsmanship, creativity, problem-solving, working with different materials and, above all, creating things that had to come to life in the real world.
Over the years I worked on props and artistic productions in different environments and countries, including projects connected to major venues such as the Sydney Opera House and theatres in Hamburg.
Today I work as a painter and sculptor at Theater Münster.
Theatre has had a lasting influence on my artistic approach. It taught me to think beyond a flat surface, to understand how an object exists in space, and to combine technical craftsmanship with imagination.
HOUSE OF WIT
House of Wit grew from all of these experiences.
It is my own creative world — a place where sculpture, painting, craftsmanship and influences from theatre, film, games and popular culture come together.
Some works begin with familiar characters or ideas. Others develop into something completely their own. I don't want to limit where that journey can lead.
The part I enjoy most is the process itself.
Watching something slowly appear while I am sculpting. Being completely focused on what is happening in front of me. The tension of creating a mould and hoping everything will work. And finally holding the finished, painted piece in my hands and thinking:
I made this.
But there is another part of creating that means just as much to me: seeing what it does to other people.
I discovered that feeling years ago, while building a carnival float with a group of people — a life-size, carnival-inspired replica of the Batavia. It was enormous, yet we had designed it so precisely that it could pass between the streets.
When we finally took it through the streets, people were standing along the route, looking up at what we had built. Some gave us a thumbs up, others were simply smiling and enjoying the spectacle.
I remember looking around and thinking:
This is it. This is what I love.
Not just building something, but creating something that makes people feel something.
That feeling has stayed with me ever since. It is one of the reasons I keep creating and one of the forces that keeps pushing me forward with House of Wit.
THE VISION
House of Wit is still developing, and I don't want to define exactly what it will become.
My vision is to build a successful independent creative business around my work — a place of my own with a house, a large workshop and a space where I can create, experiment and build on a much larger scale.
I want House of Wit to become a world that can grow with me.
A world built on art, craftsmanship and culture.
And wherever that journey eventually leads, one thing will remain at its centre:
Making things with my own hands.
FOR MY MOTHER
My mother was a maker too. She painted, knitted, crocheted, and was always creating something with her hands. I think that love for making things was simply part of the world I grew up in.
My mother passed away in 2021. She was always proud whenever I had built or created something. Whenever I showed her something new, she would look at it and say:
“How do you manage to do that?”
I can still hear her saying it.
She was a maker herself, so perhaps she understood better than anyone what it meant to create something with your own hands.
I wish she could see what House of Wit is becoming.
But I carry that memory with me.
And every time I create something that makes someone stop, smile or simply look at it in amazement, I feel a little bit of that same warmth again.
This is for you, Mum.
With love,
Roderick Wit
Founder & Artist, House of Wit
