Essays Archieven - Page 2 of 2 - Sculpture International Rotterdam

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The work of Richard Artschwager is generally grouped either with Pop Aart or with Minimalist and Conceptual art. Although none of these attempts at classification are entirely conclusive, neither are they completely arbitrary. For example,…

The Destroyed City

The Destroyed City is without doubt Rotterdam’s best-known sculpture. It also occupies a special place in the oeuvre of its maker Ossip Zadkine. Not only is it his largest sculpture but it is one of…

La Grande Musicienne

The Sculpture Terrace shows a series of different sculptural approaches to the human figure. Rodin’s bronze is relatively realistic, whereas the works of Mastroianni and Wotruba (a couple and a reclining figure respectively) were given…

Standing Figure

The monumental bronze sculpture Seated Woman by Willem de Kooning is on a stone podium next to the large fountain on Hofplein. It is a rigorously stylized depiction of a woman, with a broad-shouldered torso…

Seated Woman

The monumental bronze sculpture Seated Woman by Willem de Kooning is on a stone podium next to the large fountain on Hofplein. It is a rigorously stylized depiction of a woman, with a broad-shouldered torso…

L’Homme qui marche

The genesis l’Homme qui marche (Walking Man) dates back to 1877, when Rodin embarked on John the Baptist. He made that sculpture larger than life and portrayed the figure walking, but with both feet flat on…

1989

A collection of random ideas surrounding a good idea Moosje Goosen, mei 2011 (1) Until recently, I had a clear view of John Körmeling’s neon sculpture ‘1989’ from my bedroom window. The date…

Sylvette

Pablo Picasso met the 20-year-old Sylvette David in the spring of 1954. He was then 73 years old and throughout his various artistic phases the female portrait had always held a special place of honour.

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The American artist Joel Shapiro was influenced in many respects by the work of the minimalists of the 1960s. This influence is apparent from his preferences for an anonymous visual language, for geometry and for…

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Peter Struycken has a lengthy record of service in the area known nowadays as ‘art in the public space’. In 1963, the year he had his first solo exhibition of paintings at age 24, he…

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Of all the Dutch artists who were among the founders of the Cobra movement in 1948, Karel Appel was arguably the one who was the most radical exponent of the movement’s experimental bias. From the…

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You might well pass by and not notice the art work Mark Manders designed for the sculpture route along Rotterdam’s cultural axis. The sculpture is modest and unobtrusive. Unlike the other sculptures along the Westersingel…

Essay: Santa Claus

Editor’s note: The following essay by Pol van Dinsbergen was written at the time that the sketch design was known, and when the intention was to use a red Santa with a green ‘Christmas tree’…

How far off is the avenue?

essay Dirk van Weelden Take a walk along the Coolsingel with the idea that it could be an avenue. A metropolitan grand boulevard. The city’s flagship. A stage upon which the city can regard itself…