Brancusi: The Endless Column. In Romania stands this recognized ‘world monument’ of iron and bronze, no less than 30 meters high. It seems to almost disappear into the clouds. But the Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi (1876 – 1957) carved the original idea much earlier, in […]
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In a tree trunk, many younger versions of the same tree are hidden. Giuseppe Penone makes these visible again. Wood carving artists take into account the natural shapes in a piece of wood. Knots, they should not be in places where an eye or nose
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Jeff Koons had kitsch enlarged and presented it as art in museums. The last major purchase of a large wooden artwork by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam was already over 30 years ago (1988): ‘Ushering in Banality’ by Jeff Koons (1955). The American artist did
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Janson’s art bible fails, even though it is a holy book for the art world. What wood carving art is in it? Or better: what and who are all missing? A lot, unfortunately. In the 1184 pages, only 25 illustrations of wooden art objects can
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For centuries we have projected our lives onto those of gods, animals, objects. And: onto those of trees. ‘Gnome trees’, we call giants with a hollow at the base. Under a linden tree many hundreds of years old, we place an honorable plaque with the
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From the poetess Sappho who lived on Lesbos, one poem has survived. It is about her female beloved who nevertheless chose a man. We are writing 570 years before Christ. The poem inspired the Dutch sculptor Gerhard Lentink (1956) to create a monumental sculpture, in
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Was it a child’s toy? Or was it a ritual figurine, used by a shaman to appease the gods? With a handle to better hold this ‘Man of Willemstad’? We will never know for certain. What is certain is that the oak figurine is 7,500
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The nose is already a striking facial feature, but placed in an empty landscape it stands out even more. Since I made this nose, I can no longer watch TV without commenting on the noses that pass by. My nose was not made after an
The British collector reported at the auction: this piece of jewelry originates from the Middle East. It was made 300 years before Christ. A golden grape cluster measuring 6 by 3 by 10 millimeters. Very small, therefore. After purchase, the ‘Certificate of Authenticity’ stated that
In corona times, the future seems like a black hole. How many new Covid variants are still to come? More contagious ones? Or even more dangerous ones? Either way: the world will have to learn to live with this virus. We must move towards a
