John Willenbecher (b. 1936) is an American painter and sculptor. After graduating from Brown University in 1958, Willenbecher set out become an art historian, studying for his PhD at NYU’s Institute of Fine on Art with an intention to write about Florentine artist Mariotto Albertinelli (1474-1515). After three years of of study and six months of travel in Europe, Willenbecher returned to New York passionately determined to become an artist. Seeing The Art of Assemblage, a landmark exhibition curated by William C. Seitz at the Museum of Modern Art in 1961, catalyzed this budding ambition.

Willenbecher’s earliest works were inspired by the assemblages of Joseph Cornell and Louise Nevelson, his compositions reminiscent of vintage boardwalk arcade games. In 1963, he had his first solo exhibition at Feigen & Herbert Gallery in New York. Donald Judd, reviewing the show for Arts Magazine, writes "The sorts of meaning Willenbecher is dealing with are interesting. Insofar as art is philosophical this is relevant, believable philosophy, which, since it is in the art, takes art." Like many of his peers, from Jasper Johns to Ray Johnson, Willenbecher turned to the New York City streets and junk shops to mine materials for his playful constructions. Painted in black, white, and shades of gray, many of the found objects comprising these works are clearly identifiable, from ABC blocks and Christmas tree ornaments to wooden chair spindles. Willenbecher preferred materials “whose existences prior to his spotting them would still be detectable in their revamped state,” as art historian and curator Dan Cameron has recently observed.

Willenbecher was born in Macungie, PA and lives and works in New York City. His works can be found in the permanent collections of important museums including: the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, CA; the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; The Art Institute of Chicago, IL; the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; and Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.