Atelier Van Lieshout

In his new body of work CryptoFuturism, Joep van Lieshout revisits the Italian Futurists a century later to look at resonances between emerging Fascist tendencies today, using his art to reveal the interplay between Utopia and destruction. Van Lieshout embraces emerging technologies from genetic manipulation to robotics and big data to draw parallels between the societal threats faced in the early 20th century and the perhaps graver circumstances we face today. Starting his research by building huge machines in order to destroy or recycle all possible materials, Joep van Lieshout deconstructs notions of sustainability with techno modernist speed, playing a dangerous game with nostalgia for bygone political theorems.

Over the past three years, Atelier Van Lieshout has been working on a series of kinetic sculpture machines. Works include Si Gale Gale, a Man turned Machine, and The Maniac, a dynamic Monument for Machines.

With these mechanical works, Van Lieshout draws a parallel with the historic Kinetic Art movement, but also gives us a glimpse of possible world to come, a future where robots will be omnipresent. Demographic decline could create a necessity for robotica, for machines to take over the workload. When the population recovers, people can live like Homo Ludens, who only need to preoccupy themselves with the essence of life. This could lead to a utopian society where people can live life to the fullest but may also lead to violence and extremism.

Atlas and Face express Joep van Lieshout’s affinity with both primitive African sculpture and modern constructivist art. The artworks consists of abstract volumes, arranged in spatial constellations which suggest a certain figurativeness

The sculptures have been created by using recycled mooring posts that are made of hardwood, resistant to lasting contact with water. It evokes associations with ships and harbours, with transport and the economy, but also with travel and escapism.

More important than the volumes themselves are the rods that connect them. Although the placing of the rods may have a random appearance, together they make up the essential values of Sculpture: mass, volumes, proportions and connections.

In his new body of work CryptoFuturism, Joep van Lieshout revisits the Italian Futurists a century later to look at resonances between emerging Fascist tendencies today, using his art to reveal the interplay between Utopia and destruction. Van Lieshout embraces emerging technologies from genetic manipulation to robotics and big data to draw parallels between the societal threats faced in the early 20th century and the perhaps graver circumstances we face today. Starting his research by building huge machines in order to destroy or recycle all possible materials, Joep van Lieshout deconstructs notions of sustainability with techno modernist speed, playing a dangerous game with nostalgia for bygone political theorems.

The foyer at the heart of the Gemeentemusem Den Haag features a new artwork by Atelier van Lieshout. The eight-metre-high sculpture is designed to serve as a visitor information desk and is a humorous nod to the ‘rivalry’ between H.P. Berlage, architect of the Gemeentemuseum, and his Belgian contemporary and confrere Henry Van de Velde. Van de Velde was a founder of art nouveau, trailblazer for the later Bauhaus, and famous in the Netherlands primarily as the architect of the Kröller-Müller Museum.

In terms of artistic ideas, Berlage and Van de Velde had much in common: both sought to eliminate the distinction between art and design and to approach architecture as a Gesamtkunstwerk (total art work). At the same time, they were rivals who competed for major contracts – especially for museum buildings. Berlage also produced a design for the Kröller-Müller Museum (which was rejected), and with Henry, the Statistocrat Van de Velde has now placed his stamp on the Gemeentemuseum.

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

Molecules and atoms are sculptor Joep van Lieshout’s most recent obsession. They hold his imagination because he is currently researching the origin of matter, material and form. In addition, he is working on the development of a nuclear power plant, as part of a vision on a new, ecological, high-tech society. This has inspired him to create a series of artworks which take the structure of molecules as a source of inspiration. The works, however, area literal reference, but offer a sculptural interpretation, an artistic and contemporary version of the abstracted scientific structure.

The molecule represents Glucose (C6H12O6), the primary source of energy for human life.  Glucose is a key element for human life. Without glucose, nothing would function: neither the brain, intelligence, thought, muscles, movement or sports. Without energy, not only our lives but also our machines and our cities would come to a standstill – with great, empty, eternal stillness as the result. Energy is the vital force which drives our world, brings it its color, its joy, its vibrancy, its life. It is literally ‘the beginning of everything’.

In his new body of work CryptoFuturism, Joep van Lieshout revisits the Italian Futurists a century later to look at resonances between emerging Fascist tendencies today, using his art to reveal the interplay between Utopia and destruction. Van Lieshout embraces emerging technologies from genetic manipulation to robotics and big data to draw parallels between the societal threats faced in the early 20th century and the perhaps graver circumstances we face today. Starting his research by building huge machines in order to destroy or recycle all possible materials, Joep van Lieshout deconstructs notions of sustainability with techno modernist speed, playing a dangerous game with nostalgia for bygone political theorems.

Crucifix, Fasciae and Hammer and Sickle are insignia of the big utopian movements from the past, and ask us whether the future challenges and technological developments bring back totalitarianism.

In his new body of work CryptoFuturism, Joep van Lieshout revisits the Italian Futurists a century later to look at resonances between emerging Fascist tendencies today, using his art to reveal the interplay between Utopia and destruction. Van Lieshout embraces emerging technologies from genetic manipulation to robotics and big data to draw parallels between the societal threats faced in the early 20th century and the perhaps graver circumstances we face today. Starting his research by building huge machines in order to destroy or recycle all possible materials, Joep van Lieshout deconstructs notions of sustainability with techno modernist speed, playing a dangerous game with nostalgia for bygone political theorems.

Crucifix, Fasciae and Hammer and Sickle are insignia of the big utopian movements from the past, and ask us whether the future challenges and technological developments bring back totalitarianism.

Molecules and atoms are sculptor Joep van Lieshout’s most recent obsession. They hold his imagination because he is currently researching the origin of matter, material and form. In addition, he is working on the development of a nuclear power plant, as part of a vision on a new, ecological, high-tech society. This has inspired him to create a series of artworks which take the structure of molecules as a source of inspiration. The works, however, area literal reference, but offer a sculptural interpretation, an artistic and contemporary version of the abstracted scientific structure.

The molecule represents Glucose (C6H12O6), the primary source of energy for human life.  Glucose is a key element for human life. Without glucose, nothing would function: neither the brain, intelligence, thought, muscles, movement or sports. Without energy, not only our lives but also our machines and our cities would come to a standstill – with great, empty, eternal stillness as the result. Energy is the vital force which drives our world, brings it its color, its joy, its vibrancy, its life. It is literally ‘the beginning of everything’.

Molecules and atoms are sculptor Joep van Lieshout’s most recent obsession. They hold his imagination because he is currently researching the origin of matter, material and form. In addition, he is working on the development of a nuclear power plant, as part of a vision on a new, ecological, high-tech society. This has inspired him to create a series of artworks which take the structure of molecules as a source of inspiration. The works, however, are not a literal reference, but offer a sculptural interpretation, an artistic and contemporary version of the abstracted scientific structure

Happy Molecule pays homage to the Ethanol molecule (C2H6O), which has both a destructive and redeeming effect on human life and the world. It is the vital ingredient in all alcoholic beverage, making it a source of problems, due to its addictive nature. On the other hand, it also offers a relief from these problems, an escape from reality.

Art Basel 2016, Galería OMR

Molecules and atoms are sculptor Joep van Lieshout’s most recent obsession. They hold his imagination because he is currently researching the origin of matter, material and form. In addition, he is working on the development of a nuclear power plant, as part of a vision on a new, ecological, high-tech society. This has inspired him to create a series of artworks which take the structure of molecules as a source of inspiration. The works, however, area literal reference, but offer a sculptural interpretation, an artistic and contemporary version of the abstracted scientific structure.

The Ultimate Venus pays homage to the Ethanol molecule (C2H6O), which has both a destructive and redeeming effect on human life and the world. It is the vital ingredient in all alcoholic beverage, making it a source of problems, due to its addictive nature. On the other hand, it also offers a relief from these problems, an escape from reality.

Molecules and atoms are sculptor Joep van Lieshout’s most recent obsession. They hold his imagination because he is currently researching the origin of matter, material and form. In addition, he is working on the development of a nuclear power plant, as part of a vision on a new, ecological, high-tech society. This has inspired him to create a series of artworks which take the structure of molecules as a source of inspiration. The works, however, area literal reference, but offer a sculptural interpretation, an artistic and contemporary version of the abstracted scientific structure.

The Molecule That Solves Every Problem pays homage to the Ethanol molecule (C2H6O), which has both a destructive and redeeming effect on human life and the world. It is the vital ingredient in all alcoholic beverage, making it a source of problems, due to its addictive nature. On the other hand, it also offers a relief from these problems, an escape from reality

The kinetic artwork Intercontinental by Atelier Van Lieshout is a model of one of the brothels from the SlaveCity project, and offers a visual representation of the different women in the world.

In his new body of work CryptoFuturism, Joep van Lieshout revisits the Italian Futurists a century later to look at resonances between emerging Fascist tendencies today, using his art to reveal the interplay between Utopia and destruction. Van Lieshout embraces emerging technologies from genetic manipulation to robotics and big data to draw parallels between the societal threats faced in the early 20th century and the perhaps graver circumstances we face today. Starting his research by building huge machines in order to destroy or recycle all possible materials, Joep van Lieshout deconstructs notions of sustainability with techno modernist speed, playing a dangerous game with nostalgia for bygone political theorems.

For the near future, Atelier Van Lieshout foresees the emergence of a new tribal world, a primitive society where production takes centre stage. This world will see a return to farming and industry – which currently both have been banished from our society – and a re-establishment of our relationship with materials – which now has been lost. In this new world, ethics will be of little importance. Instead, rituals will be re-valued, and will offer the tribes of the future guidance.

Atelier Van Lieshout is taking an advance on this future, and is creating all necessary equipment for the imaginary tribes, ranging from items of worship and sacrifice to objects for daily use, dwellings and machines. All these artworks together make the huge Gesamtkunstwerk that is New Tribal Labyrinth.

The Burghers symbolizes the ever-present human dilemma: the choice between the known and the unknown, between security and insecurity, between tradition and progress. The monumental sculpture draws from a universal and timeless theme: what does one do in an emergency situation? The figures, huddled together like a Laocoon, represent the different emotions that people go through in a time of conflict: heroism, fear, rebellion, survival, escape, compassion, cowardice, joy, loneliness – a mass of humans, insecure, doubtful and chaotic.

An abstracted sculpture of a pig which deifies the animal making it into a sacred monument for ritual. An element of Van Lieshout’s New Tribal Labyrinth.

For the near future, Atelier Van Lieshout foresees the emergence of a new tribal world, a primitive society where production takes centre stage. This world will see a return to farming and industry – which currently both have been banished from our society – and a re-establishment of our relationship with materials – which now has been lost. In this new world, ethics will be of little importance. Instead, rituals will be re-valued, and will offer the tribes of the future guidance.
Atelier Van Lieshout is taking an advance on this future, and is creating all necessary equipment for the imaginary tribes, ranging from items of worship and sacrifice to objects for daily use, dwellings and machines. All these artworks together make the huge Gesamtkunstwerk that is New Tribal Labyrinth

For the near future, Atelier Van Lieshout foresees the emergence of a new tribal world, a primitive society where production takes centre stage. This world will see a return to farming and industry – which currently both have been banished from our society – and a re-establishment of our relationship with materials – which now has been lost. In this new world, ethics will be of little importance. Instead, rituals will be re-valued, and will offer the tribes of the future guidance.

Atelier Van Lieshout is taking an advance on this future, and is creating all necessary equipment for the imaginary tribes, ranging from items of worship and sacrifice to objects for daily use, dwellings and machines. All these artworks together make the huge Gesamtkunstwerk that is New Tribal Labyrinth

Our capacity to shape the world, to create culture and wealth is a great achievement. At the same time, our relationship with nature has become severely disrupted, whilst our needs seem to be growing nonetheless. In order to support 7 billion people, agriculture has become an industry, with factory farming and genetic manipulation a necessity. This provides us with an ethical dilemma, as this kind of farming seems to border on abuse. At the same time, the literal abuse of animals, bestiality, is one of the last remaining taboos. Why is it that treating an animal like a fellow human is an unspeakable act, whilst treating an animal like a resource for industrial production is the norm?

Rising from the rubble of the apocalypse, The Leader is a takedown of colonial monuments. The sculpture of a rider and donkey draped in folds of thick bronze conceals a structurally hollow interior, a metaphor for our times. We ask ourselves: “is this leader present, absent, democratic, good, bad, or ugly?”.

Ballerina shows us a well-intended but unachieved attempt to attain symmetry. The sculpture springs from Joep van Lieshout’s desire to create geometrical form in an intuitive, expressive and impulsive fashion, and from his exploration of the relationship between the human body and geometry. The intentionally asymmetrical sculpture reminds us of the balance of the human body and the dynamics of movement.

Not by coincidence, Ballerina draws on the visual language of the costumes of the Ballet Russes, which in themselves were also a reflection on balance, movement and asymmetry.

Galerie Jousse Entreprise, Paris

Untitled is a sculptural interpretation of a Pietà, and a reference to one of the most well know artistic representations of the sorrowful Virgin Mary, the sculptural group by Michelangelo in Rome’s St. Peters Basilica. At the same time, it draws on the visual language of 20th century movements in art: futurism, cubism, abstract expressionism. Pietà is a modern-day presentation of a centuries-old representation of sorrow.

In his new body of work CryptoFuturism Joep van Lieshout revisits the Italian Futurists a century later to look at resonances between emerging Fascist tendencies today, using his art to reveal the interplay between Utopia and destruction. Van Lieshout embraces emerging technologies from genetic manipulation to robotics and big data to draw parallels between the societal threats faced in the early 20th century and the perhaps graver circumstances we face today. Starting his research by building huge machines in order to destroy or recycle all possible materials, Joep van Lieshout deconstructs notions of sustainability with techno modernist speed, playing a dangerous game with nostalgia for bygone political theorems.

Le Foot is a balancing foot with abstract carvings, expressing speed and movement.

Pipecutter is multi-layered, a work of many meanings: it raises a monument for humble tools, whilst its’ embryonic form refers to the small but overpowering origins of human life. The statue is cradled by an umbilical metal pedestal, which in turn is connected to a simple, crib-like chair – the AVL-Shaker chair. The chair appears to have been the focal point of shamanist rituals or offerings, in contrast with the Pipe Cutter itself, a virginal ideal image in pure white composite.

The AVL-Shaker chair was conceived in 1999, inspired by the furniture created by the Shakers. It was, however, intended as a furniture piece for the ideal dwelling of the Una Bomber, which in turn was part of an installation at the Walker Art Center entitled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Mother Earth and Mother Earth Constructivist mark a return to the origin of sculpture, to primitive totems and fertility statues.

Mother Earth in specific displays a kinship with Paleolithic Venus Figurines. The artworks’ creative process was expressive and intuitive, not driven by any premeditated plan. The artwork is placed on a abstract, geometrical pedestal, a reference to the utopian modernist movements of the early 20th century. Mother Earth couples the pursuit of progress with a longing for the primitive past, highlighting the contrast between primitivism and constructivism – a theme which it shares with a series of recent works by Atelier Van Lieshout, like for instance Pipe Cutter.

Over the past three years, Atelier Van Lieshout has been working on a series of kinetic sculpture machines. Works include Si Gale Gale, a Man turned Machine, and The Maniac, a dynamic Monument for Machines.

With these mechanical works, Van Lieshout draws a parallel with the historic Kinetic Art movement, but also gives us a glimpse of possible world to come, a future where robots will be omnipresent. Demographic decline could create a necessity for robotica, for machines to take over the workload. When the population recovers, people can live like Homo Ludens, who only need to preoccupy themselves with the essence of life. This could lead to a utopian society where people can live life to the fullest but may also lead to violence and extremism.

Mother Earth and Mother Earth Constructivist mark a return to the origin of sculpture, to primitive totems and fertility statues.

Mother Earth in specific displays a kinship with Paleolithic Venus Figurines. The artworks’ creative process was expressive and intuitive, not driven by any premeditated plan. The artwork is placed on a abstract, geometrical pedestal, a reference to the utopian modernist movements of the early 20th century. Mother Earth couples the pursuit of progress with a longing for the primitive past, highlighting the contrast between primitivism and constructivism – a theme which it shares with a series of recent works by Atelier Van Lieshout, like for instance Pipe Cutter.

With its abstract, geometrical shapes, the Nouveau Brutaliste holds a clear reference to the utopian modernist movements of the early 20th century. At the same time, however, the installation addresses mans’ most primeval needs for rituals and rites. The installation is part of the ongoing series by Atelier Van Lieshout, entitled New Tribal Labyrinth, which presents a vision of a future, yet primitive, world inhabited by imaginary tribes where there will be different ethics. This world will see a return to farming and industry, to rituals and rites.

Early Bird is a bird is a bird is a bird is a bird, all four symbolizing a different viewpoint, a different direction.

Atelier Van Lieshout has created a series of artworks that symbolize the power of humanity over the natural world, the Domestikator series. These artworks pay tribute to the ingenuity, the sophistication and the capacities of humanity, to the power of organization, and to the use of this power to dominate, domesticate the natural environment

Our capacity to shape the world, to create culture and wealth is a great achievement. At the same time, our relationship with nature has become severely disrupted, whilst our needs seem to be growing nonetheless. In order to support 7 billion people, agriculture has become an industry, with factory farming and genetic manipulation a necessity. This provides us with an ethical dilemma, as this kind of farming seems to border on abuse. At the same time, the literal abuse of animals, bestiality, is one of the last remaining taboos. Why is it that treating an animal like a fellow human is an unspeakable act, whilst treating an animal like a resource for industrial production is the norm?

Statistocrat refers to the current increase in importance of statistics and polls. With his build inspired by bar charts this sculpture functions as an idol for our new world, our future leaders.

Atelier Van Lieshout has created a series of artworks that symbolize the power of humanity over the natural world, the Domestikator series. These artworks pay tribute to the ingenuity, the sophistication and the capacities of humanity, to the power of organization, and to the use of this power to dominate, domesticate the natural environment.

Our capacity to shape the world, to create culture and wealth is a great achievement. At the same time, our relationship with nature has become severely disrupted, whilst our needs seem to be growing nonetheless. In order to support 7 billion people, agriculture has become an industry, with factory farming and genetic manipulation a necessity. This provides us with an ethical dilemma, as this kind of farming seems to border on abuse. At the same time, the literal abuse of animals, bestiality, is one of the last remaining taboos. Why is it that treating an animal like a fellow human is an unspeakable act, whilst treating an animal like a resource for industrial production is the norm?

Our capacity to shape the world, to create culture and wealth is a great achievement. At the same time, our relationship with nature has become severely disrupted, whilst our needs seem to be growing nonetheless. In order to support 7 billion people, agriculture has become an industry, with factory farming and genetic manipulation a necessity. This provides us with an ethical dilemma, as this kind of farming seems to border on abuse. At the same time, the literal abuse of animals, bestiality, is one of the last remaining taboos. Why is it that treating an animal like a fellow human is an unspeakable act, whilst treating an animal like a resource for industrial production is the norm? Atelier Van Lieshout has created a series of artworks that symbolize the power of humanity over the natural world, the Domestikator series. These artworks pay tribute to the ingenuity, the sophistication and the capacities of humanity, to the power of organisation, and to the use of this power to dominate, domesticate the natural environment. Farmer, 2015 is part of this series, and address the relation between man and nature, which can be seen in a both positive and negative light.

The Food Processor is a sculpture of an imaginary future farm, a perfect utopian machine that functions similarly to the human body — which Joep Van Lieshout sees as the ultimate system. The sculpture offers a futuristic, hybrid-genetic opportunity for unlimited food supply as a solution to our world’s diminishing resources. Paying homage to man and machine evolving into one united entity, the Food Processor takes leftovers and combines them with bacteria and enzymes to produce a new, recycled super food. The food of the future.

This genetically manipulated organic machine is part of Van Lieshout’s ongoing series of work The New Tribal Labyrint . Presenting the public with a vision of a possible future, The New Tribal Labyrinth is an alternative society inhabited by tribes.