Wim (Willem) Strijbosch was born in Amsterdam in 1928. After leaving his parents in 1945 he made a living painting wooden furniture. Until 1947 he studied Graphic Design at the Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs in Amsterdam, where he received tuition from, amongst others, painter Mark Kolthoff and designer Mart Stam.
In 1951 Strijbosch became a member of Creatie, where he had many friends. Despite his busy social life, his works are a display of his introvert side. Within Creatie he’s one of the artists looking for self-reflection and giving their works a poetic expression. His works from 1949-1953 often express a cosmic environment, influenced by Paul Klee. Although Strijbosch generally limited himself to geometric-abstract compositions it is remarkable that the geometric shapes are never with mathematical precision because he painted them out of his hand.
After 1953 the geometric designs made way for a more free and expressive style with powerful colours, relaxed brushstrokes and sometimes motives like bird figures. From 1954 until 1957 Strijbosch worked at the advertising department of a large retail chain, and he also did the design on various posters and catalogues of museums until ca. 1965, for which he is well known.
Together with Crouwel and Keus he was involved with theatre productions as a stage and sets designer and as a teacher at the Koninklijke Academie in Den Bosch and at the Instituut voor Kunstnijverheidsonderwijs in Amsterdam. As an executive of the Liga Nieuw Beelden Strijbosch advocated the integration of art and architecture, and his contribution to the Dutch artistic climate was substantial. Wim Strijbosch died of cancer when he was only forty in 1968.