Implosion

“I work from a constant flow of ideas, whereby each step is vital in coming up with a new sculpture. A period of wooden wall sculptures based on ‘playing with light’ was followed by a structural approach and working in series. This period coincided with my move from Germany to the Netherlands. The 1980s were characterised by the use of natural stone (marble, granite and boulders), the latter because I was looking for an opportunity to integrate ‘nature and its strength’ into my work, i.e. to let it play a direct role. That’s how I came to use air pressure. Before that, I had already experimented with gravity: rolling cube, 1982. In 1984, I had a large steel cube welded in Acquoy for the beelden aan de linge exhibition and, as an opening act, I pumped the air out of it in front of the guests. The robust cube collapsed into itself. It folded, so instead of a scene of destruction it became ‘the birth of a sculpture’! The geometry I used made it visually clear how powerful ‘the gentle air’ could be. In my first attempts, I used normal steel but have used only stainless steel since 1990. This material is not only tougher, it also reflects the environment in spots of colour when using brushed steel, or as caricatural shapes – similar to fun-house mirrors – when used with high-gloss polished steel. Since that time, a series of variants have emerged, the end of which is not yet in sight.
I always begin from the human dimension, the relationship with the urban environment or the natural landscape. Although abstract, I see my sculptures as figures, who often get a nickname after the implosion, depending on what association they evoke. The ‘double’ for the exhibition on the Lange Voorhout was created in 2008 in Berlin. He/she consists of two rooms, each a cube, that are connected by air through a small opening inside. This enables them to implode simultaneously”.

The proceeds of the Artists in Residence project are donated to the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds aims to encourage inspiration, purpose, and social interconnection for everyone in the Netherlands by investing in cultural projects together with its partners. The Cultuurfonds supports and helps realize projects of cultural organizations and artists by raising funds and handing out awards for outstanding work.