Atelier Van Lieshout

Mixed Media
131 cm x 56 cm x 145 cm

Rider of the Apocalypse (2020) was part of the following exhibition(s):
Het Labyrinth, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (NL), 2021

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Bronze, sheep felt

Reclining Figure is an elegant and intimate sculpture of a woman, a portrayal of beauty and female strength. She is a primal mother; warm and sensitive, but strong, being able to easily hold the weight of eight.

For enquiries: please contact Carpenters Workshop Gallery

105 x 82 x 210 cm

Half machine, half organism, The Chicken of the Future has no conscience, feels no pain and solely contains the mechanism of the egg production without showing the recognisable features of the animal. AVL presents a farfetched, science-fiction like solution for the world food problem.

Chicken of the Future (2019) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The CryptoFuturist and The New Tribal Labyrinth‘, Pioneer Works, New York (USA), 2019

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
30 x 65 x 156 cm

Boem Boem is part of the RENEGADE series. With RENEGADE Van Lieshout defines art on his own terms. He challenges the market while giving it what it wants: Van Lieshout, the artist sometimes referred to as designer, will make or take an artwork and turn it into design by just adding a lampshade. With incredible speed Atelier Van Lieshout sculpts a multitude of lamps at a time, thereby quickly accumulating an amount that can spread through the art world like a virus. By adding a lampshade, Van Lieshout presents this new group of works to the public as if it were quickly assembled DIY furniture: large quantities, functional and very accessible.

Boem Boem (2019) was part of the following exhibition(s):
Light in the Darkness, Krinzinger Schottenfeld, Vienna (AT), 2022

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Aluminium
Group of 9 sculptures

The Humanoids created for the park in Miami Beach, are part of AVL’s ongoing fascination with man, machine and humanity. They appear as abstract figures, which use the park and the natural environment as their habitat, formulating a subtle statement about our relationship to nature and our origins. The sculptures will be placed throughout the park, along the canal and amidst the trees. The Humanoids invite visitors to engage, stimulate social interaction and contemplation, whether it be to use them as rendezvous spots, places to remember, sketch, write, think or talk.

A video of Humanoids (2019) via this link

Commission
Location: Collins Canal Park, Miami (USA)

Wood, steel
534 cm x 210 cm x 345 cm

Pendulum (2019) is a massive, mechanical clock powered by a swinging pendulum. The clock’s hands tick loudly, ominously counting down to the “end of everything” which then ushers in the “beginning of everything” – a perpetual cycle of destruction and creation characteristic of our constant search for utopia.

Pendulum (2019) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The CryptoFuturist and The New Tribal Labyrinth‘, Pioneer Works, New York (USA), 2019
‘The Clock Which Will Solve Every Problem in the World‘, Kunstraum, Dornbirn (AT), 2020

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Press here for a video of Pendulum (2019)

Mixed Media
230 x 230 x 41 cm

Back to the Future Clock can show the time very accurately, down to a 100th of a second. However, it can also suddenly decided to make unpredictable movements. An especially for Atelier Van Lieshout developed computer programme makes the hands of the clock dance, move back and forth undecidedly or they droop down, laboriously push themselves past the numbers. Or they rush around, hours becoming seconds, minutes becoming a blur.
The work tries to redefine the concept and our understanding of time by taking away the certainty that time passes and the clock will keep on ticking.

Back To The Future Clock (2019) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘BIG AND PLENTY‘, AVL Mundo, Rotterdam (NL), 2019
World Expo 2020, The Netherlands Pavilion, Dubai (UAE), 2020
World Expo Dubai 2021, The Netherlands Pavilion, Dubai (UAE), 2021

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Press here for a moving image of Back To The Future Clock.

Steel
Diverse measurements

The Pipe-bomb Clocks are steel, working clockworks attached to pipe-bombs on a steel frame and pedestal. These improvised explosive devices suggests that time is running out, but at least we can keep count whilst it does.

Pipe Bomb Clock Medium & Double (2019) were part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Killing Time‘, Willem Twee, Den Bosch (NL), 2018
‘The CryptoFuturist and The New Tribal Labyrinth‘, Pioneer Works, New York (USA), 2019

Aluminium, electricity
69 x 69 x 71 cm

Willem de Zwijger (2018) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Killing Time‘, Willem Twee, Den Bosch (NL), 2018

Steel, glass
32 x 20 x 65 cm

Suspended Hourglass shows the passing of time and plays with the concept of time, which is perceived a constant in our lives. The work is a working hourglass – an old time-telling apparatus – but also a reference to the end of times and the temporality of human life.

This forged steel gallows with the attached hourglass are part of a series that Van Lieshout has been creating regarding this concept of time. This series of works imagines what may happen if this concept that determines our lives, our rhythm and our pace, is altered to become something we cannot quite grasp. Van Lieshout plays with mankind’s one certainty, which is that time always goes on, that the clock never stops ticking and that everything will continue to change. This series about time is part of the Cryptofuturism project.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Composite
80 x 100 x 418 cm

Since the beginning of modern society, rats have played a role in culture and science. The animals often evoke a sense of fear and horror. Atelier Van Lieshout however would like to stress the positive sides of the rat. They are considered highly intelligent, are adaptive when the environment changes, agile and sensitive, and very able to take care of themselves. Considering these positive notions, one could easily see the human side of the animal. The rat could be envisioned as the animal of the future; an animal that will always be here; an animal that we should look upon as a friend instead of a foe. Just like the artist himself.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Concrete, steel
160 x 166 x 350 cm

Farmers depend on the earth and submit to it, but they also try to shape and manipulate nature. The Sower is a classic sculptural theme that AVL executed in a style that combines Russian constructivism — championing belief in engineering and Flemish primitivism, that portrays man as subjected to nature.

The Sower (2018) was part of the following exhibition(s):
Ostfriesland Biennale, Fraeylemaborg, Slochteren (NL), 2022
‘Let’s Get Physical‘, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020
‘ArtZuid‘, Amsterdam (NL), 2019

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed Media
85 x 85 x 200 cm

Death, just like the Philosopher, is part of the four sculptures representing the future leaders of the CryptoFuturism Movement.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Composite
Group of 3 sculptures

Artist, Artist producing and Curator (2018) are a series of works presenting the creatives as beggars; the scum of today’s society. The different sculptures form a group, which confirms and ridicules the position that these ‘slaves’ of the arts sector find themselves in.

This new group of sculptures was created as part of the Cryptofuturism project; in which 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. The question is whether these figures present the position of the artist and the curator in this new world Van Lieshout creates, or if they represent their position in society today.

Artist, Artist producing and Curator (2018) were part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Market Forces‘, HERO Gallery, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Steel
60 x 44 x 71 cm

The gesamtkunstwerk The End of Everything is the artist’s reflection on art, the current market climate and a comment on human consumption patterns. With this work, Joep van Lieshout would like to ‘blaze a trail through this imbalance, to destroy and renew, start again with what is good – to recycle’.

The installation consists of a group of raw, industrial artworks – Der Fliegende Holländer, The Press, The Hammer and The Shredder. These may be interpreted as machines for either construction or destruction, as a negative or positive force, as a break from tradition and a change for the future. The primary goal is to recycle, be it scrap, consumer goods, artworks, even Joep van Lieshout’s own creations.

War (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
Ruhr Triennale, Bochum (DE), 2015
Ruhr Triennale, Bochum (DE), 2017
Art Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL), 2018
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Carpenter Workshop Gallery, New York (USA), 2020

Steel
62 cm x 55 cm x 220 cm

The gesamtkunstwerk The End of Everything is the artist’s reflection on art, the current market climate and a comment on human consumption patterns. With this work, Joep van Lieshout would like to ‘blaze a trail through this imbalance, to destroy and renew, start again with what is good – to recycle’.

The installation consists of a group of raw, industrial artworks – Der Fliegende Holländer, The Press, The Hammer and The Shredder. These may be interpreted as machines for either construction or destruction, as a negative or positive force, as a break from tradition and a change for the future. The primary goal is to recycle, be it scrap, consumer goods, artworks, even Joep van Lieshout’s own creations.

Calgon (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The Clock Which Will Solve Every Problem in the World‘, Kunstraum Dornbirn (AT), 2020
‘Ferrotopia’, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Steel
84 cm x 57 cm x 192 cm

Mensch (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The Clock Which Will Solve Every Problem in the World’, Kunstraum Dornbirn (AT), 2020

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Washing machine, steel
140 cm x 95 cm x 177 cm

The gesamtkunstwerk The End of Everything is the artist’s reflection on art, the current market climate and a comment on human consumption patterns. With this work, Joep van Lieshout would like to ‘blaze a trail through this imbalance, to destroy and renew, start again with what is good – to recycle’. The installation consists of a group of raw, industrial artworks – Der Fliegende Holländer, The Press, The Hammer and The Shredder. These may be interpreted as machines for either construction or destruction, as a negative or positive force, as a break from tradition and a change for the future. The primary goal is to recycle, be it scrap, consumer goods, artworks, even Joep van Lieshout’s own creations.

Le Balzac (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The Clock Which Will Solve Every Problem in the World‘, Kunstraum Dornbirn (AT), 2020

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Steel
40 cm x 71 cm x 203 cm

The gesamtkunstwerk The End of Everything is the artist’s reflection on art, the current market climate and a comment on human consumption patterns. With this work, Joep van Lieshout would like to ‘blaze a trail through this imbalance, to destroy and renew, start again with what is good – to recycle’.

The installation consists of a group of raw, industrial artworks – Der Fliegende Holländer, The Press, The Hammer and The Shredder. These may be interpreted as machines for either construction or destruction, as a negative or positive force, as a break from tradition and a change for the future. The primary goal is to recycle, be it scrap, consumer goods, artworks, even Joep van Lieshout’s own creations.

Birds (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘State of Extremes‘, Design Museum, Holon (IL), 2019

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
115 cm x 100 cm x 205 cm

The gesamtkunstwerk The End of Everything is the artist’s reflection on art, the current market climate and a comment on human consumption patterns. With this work, Joep van Lieshout would like to ‘blaze a trail through this imbalance, to destroy and renew, start again with what is good – to recycle’.

The installation consists of a group of raw, industrial artworks – Der Fliegende Holländer, The Press, The Hammer and The Shredder. These may be interpreted as machines for either construction or destruction, as a negative or positive force, as a break from tradition and a change for the future. The primary goal is to recycle, be it scrap, consumer goods, artworks, even Joep van Lieshout’s own creations.

As a result from Bronco, a hydraulic press that can destroy everyday object and transform them intro new artworks, Daalderop was created.

Daalderop (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The Clock Which Will Solve Every Problem in the World’, Kunstraum Dornbirn (AT), 2020
‘Der Hausfreund’, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna (AT), 2016

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Aluminium
94 x 174 x 304 cm

The owl has symbolised wisdom since the ancient Greeks. It is rooted in nature and reproduces by laying eggs, but under the influence of rational, scientific thinking it has become more angular.
The Philosopher is one of four characters that constitute an AVL-designed new world order. Death, The Artist, The Leader and The Philosopher are idols for the future.

Philosopher (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Utopia‘, Château Saint-Maur, Saint Tropez (FR), 2022
‘De Verleiding‘, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020
‘ArtZuid’, Amsterdam (NL), 2019
‘Ferrotopia‘, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
250 x 150 x 600 cm

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.

Fog Horn is a work in process and forms an eternal automatic orchestra.

Fog Horn (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Ferrotopia‘, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Wood, steel
85 cm x 50 cm x 160 cm

The gesamtkunstwerk The End of Everything is the artist’s reflection on art, the current market climate and a comment on human consumption patterns. With this work, Joep van Lieshout would like to ‘blaze a trail through this imbalance, to destroy and renew, start again with what is good – to recycle’.

The installation consists of a group of raw, industrial artworks – Der Fliegende Holländer, The Press, The Hammer and The Shredder. These may be interpreted as machines for either construction or destruction, as a negative or positive force, as a break from tradition and a change for the future. The primary goal is to recycle, be it scrap, consumer goods, artworks, even Joep van Lieshout’s own creations.

Process 50 ton 50 mm (2016) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘State of Extremes‘, Design Museum, Holon (IL), 2019 – 2020

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass
120 x 60 x 290 cm

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.

Black Pinkie (2016) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘De Verleiding’, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Walking Stick I (2016)
Wood, steel, rope
35 cm x 28 cm x 197 cm

Walking Stick II (2016)
Wood, steel, rope
32 cm x 28 cm x 184 cm

Walking Stick III (2018)
Composite
42 cm x 40 cm x 202 cm

Walking Stick IV (2018)
Composite
22 cm x 20 cm x 174 cm

Walking Stick V  (2018)
Composite, glass
25 cm x 25 cm x 210 cm

Walking Stick VI (2018)
Aluminium, composite
25 cm x 25 cm x 166 cm

Joep van Lieshout has started to work on a new series of artworks entitled ‘CryptoFuturism’. With these works he wants to focus on the contrast, the longing for both the primitive and the progressive. The title refers to Futurism, the early 20th century cultural movement which wanted to change to world by applying technology and progress, and which glorified violence and war. The result of this conflict, however, was not the rise but the demise of the cultural significance of Futurism, and led the group to merge with the Fascist movement. Now as well as during the advent of Futurism, our world is undergoing significant technological and societal changes – globalization, terrorism, big data and smart technology – and populist, even fascist movements seem on the rise.

As part of this series, Van Lieshout has created two related staff-shaped “walking sticks”, sculptures that seem like scepters of wisdom. These refer to visionaries, forerunners who redeem the masses and lead the way into the future. One of the staffs shows an image of devotion, rationality and loss, whilst the other staff refers to primitivism and fertility. The staffs question the position of visionaries and prophets, and the steps one needs to take before reaching the way into the future.

Walking Sticks (2016-) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Vrijplaats bij MIJ’, Museum IJsselstein, IJsselstein (NL), 2019
‘Killing Time‘, Willem Twee, Den Bosch (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Foam, ricepaper
137 x 111 x 245 cm

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 Janus head: one side looks to the past, the other side to the future, representing history on a breaking point.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
94 x 96 x 275 cm

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.

Leemwerker is a monument to the strong, menial labourer, who toils the soil. He is submitted to nature, but at the same time submits nature to his will. The sculpture is both a referal to the art of the Russian constructivists, as well as that of the Flemish Primitives.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Wood, steel
76 cm x 55 cm x 210 cm

Face expresses 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.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
60 x 65 x 225 cm

The work is part of Van Lieshout’s New Tribal Labyrinth. In this series AVL’s recurring themes of examining the structures of power and revolution are linked to the end of the worlds’ resources. Nose Cart acts as a monument for a new world order, a society inhabited by imaginary tribes, where rituals will be reinstated and re-evaluated.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
89 x 77 x 150 cm

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 Crypto Helmets refer to new rituals by groups of individuals that want to go back to the origin of the industrial revolution and food production. Their final goals is to become one with the machine.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
94 x 56 x 160 cm

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 Crypto Helmets refer to new rituals by groups of individuals that want to go back to the origin of the industrial revolution and food production. Their final goals is to become one with the machine.

Nuclear Crypto Helmet (2016) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Der Hausfreund’, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna (AT), 2016 – 2017

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
70 x 70 x 340 cm

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 enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

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.

Stainless steel
85 x 85 x 320 cm

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 enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
450 x 500 x 800 cm

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

Fiberglass
205 x 205 x 420 cm

This tree of life bears body-shaped fruit in various stages of ripeness. This is a celebration of life or perhaps these are the ‘strange fruit’ jazz singer Billie Holiday referred to in her 1938 song: the victims of lynch mobs. Birth and death grow on the same tree.

Tree of Life (2016) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Utopia‘, Château Saint-Maur, Saint Tropez (FR), 2022
‘De Verleiding’, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 -2021
‘SlaveCity’, De Pont, Tilburg (NL), 2016

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com