The Scientists
Fiberglass
150 x 140 x 90 cm
Penis S, M, L
Fiberglass
Diverse measurements
Penis Small, Penis Medium and Penis Large are part of a series of colourful fibreglass sculptures that Atelier Van Lieshout produced in the early 00’s: a complete series of human internal organs. For Van Lieshout, the ‘Organ’ series were a way to take a step away from design, and to focus on the pure functionality of systems and materials instead. By taking away design choices and faring on either rationale or that which nature has given us, Van Lieshout researched what the hand of the artist actually means. These works are a stylized representation of the interior of the human body, almost perfect anatomical renditions of the organs that keep us going, the artist turned inside-out. In that sense ‘Organ’ series can also be seen as an attempt of the artist to get a grip on the mysterious but incredibly well-functioning system of the human body.
Penis S, M, L (2003/2004) are part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
‘Infernopolis’, Submarinewharf, Rotterdam (NL), 2010
‘Das Haus’, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (DE), 2008 – 2009
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
The Company
Fiberglass
700 x 750 x 180 cm
The Interpolis Insurance company asked AVL to design a half-open meeting place for 14 people; the company did not want to build a separate room. AVL’s solution was to create a central table, surrounded by a sculpture group. The sculpted fibreglass figures represent the employees of an average company and their lives: businessmen shaking hands and discussing a portfolio; a hard-working manager, a good director pushing a disabled person in a wheelchair; gossiping office assistants; a family and a depressed worker.
Location: Interpolis Tilburg (NL)
Prick Medical Model
Fiberglass
200 x 110 x 135 cm
The first medical model, this sculpture of a penis heralds AVL’s series of anatomical sculptures and installations.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Bad Man Hitting, Fisting, Kicking
Fiberglass
Diverse measurements
Bad Man Kicking, Bad Man Hitting and Bad Man Fisting are sculptures of human figures mistreating others and express Van Lieshout’s ongoing love for Darwinism and systems. The Bad Men series explores the individual within or beyond society, with or without morals.
Bad Man Kicking, Hitting and Fisting (2002) were part of the following exhibition(s):
‘De Verleiding’, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022
‘The Invisible Hand’, Parc Tournay de Solvay , Brussels (BE), 2016
‘Infernopolis’, Submarinewharf, Rotterdam (NL), 2010
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Utopian Doghouse
Wood, fiberglass, steel
244 cm x 230 cm x 109 cm
This ideal home for dogs has a living room, a bedroom and a porch with an unlimited supply of fresh water and dog food. A canine utopia, the doghouse was made for the biennial of Bussan in Korea, where dogs are on the menu; the unit’s storage place also holds the butchering equipment.
Utopian Doghouse (2002) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The Invisible Hand’, Parc Tournay de Solvay , Brussels (BE), 2016
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Bacchus and His Two Assistants
AVL Man Waving
Fiberglass
60 x 100 x 180 cm
AVL Man is as standardized as possible. He’s the ideal employee with no personality, who never complains. But neither does he have hands and feet, so he won’t get much done.
AVL Man was AVL’s first humanoid sculpture. He was succeeded by others, less anonymous, but just as unproductive.
AVL Man Waving (1999) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
Vastberaden
Fiberglass
150 x 250 x 380 cm
Location: Rabobank, Uithoorn (NL)
Composttoilet
Fiberglass
150 x 150 x 300 cm
A double-decker toilet for environmentally friendly composting. Faecal matter falls into the elongated container. The Composttoilet is a very low-tech yet very efficient way of recycling human waste. Straw, which is thrown in the toilet bowl, helps the composting process; the straw’s hollow stems bring oxygen into the faeces, thus helping aerobic bacteria to grow.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Mercedes with 57mm Canon
Steel
140 x 440 x 200 cm
AVL’s old company car, an ordinary Mercedes, was converted into a pick-up truck and equipped with a 57-mm canon designed by the atelier and made from everyday materials. Part of the exhibition The Good, The Bad and The Ugly presented in Rabastens in 1998, the Mercedes with the canon gained notoriety when the mayor banned the show. In 2002, the work was almost confiscated by the Rotterdam police, who started to impound artworks shortly after the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was murdered. Twenty Dutch state officials showed up at AVL: ten policemen, five customs officials and five tax officials. They took AVL M80 Mortar but decided to come back the next day for the Mercedes. The car was transported to the Boijmans Museum, which decided to acquire the work for its permanent collection and save it from being destroyed.
Collection: Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (NL)
Mercedes with 57mm Canon (1998) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Boijmans Drive-Thru Museum’, Ahoy, Rotterdam (NL), 2020
‘Happy Forest’, Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo (NL), 2005
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Pikkeboom
Fiberglass
330 x 400 x 300 cm
Located at the Triversum in Alkmaar, NL
Beercrates
Mixed media
Diverse measurements
After a day of hard work, Joep van Lieshout was sitting in his Atelier. Drinking a beer and looking at a beercrate he discovered that the size of a beer crate was the same as the size of the concrete tiles that were on the floor in his atelier. This new insight resulted in several installations with beercrates and concrete pavers. The coincidence that these two materials would fit this way, was enough for Joep van Lieshout to name it a sculpture. System and random play an important role in his work.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Operating Table
Wood, copper, iron, concrete
Operating Table (1984), one of Van Lieshout’s earliest sculptures, exhibits his persistent obsession with science and the creative use of ethics and knowledge gained through experimentation. It was made to cure people, but it looks like a worn out butcher’s block, customized for obscure pleasures.
Operating Table (1984) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘The CryptoFuturist and The New Tribal Labyrinth’, Pioneer Works, New York (USA), 2019
‘Das Haus’, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (DE), 2008 – 2009
Boat
Steel, gypsum, canvas, bone
420 x 70 x 210
During art school, Joep van Lieshout made several functional objects, one of them was Boat (1983). This work contained the contradiction between the rational and the irrational, as the boat is way too heavy to actually float.
Boat (1983) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Das Haus’, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (DE), 2008 – 2009