Hans Van de Bovenkamp, the Internationally renowned sculptor best known for his gleaming monumental sculptures in marine stainless steel, calls for aesthetic that traverses the boundaries of artistic categories, primarily in open spaces. For Van de Bovenkamp, making sculpture is both a spiritual and artistic collaboration. His environment is his sanctuary.
Effected by the shootings and hate crimes everywhere that seem to be the new norm, Van de Bovenkamp created a series of sculptures called “Ascended Angels”. “When I am working, I am truly living in the present moment”. Focused and aware of the choices he makes, Van de Bovenkamp’s work functions in an elevated state between the conscious and the sub conscious. “Over time, I have been fortunate to gather enough skill and vision to realize my ideas as they have come into my heart, art for me is not just passion, it is a way of life”.
Van de Bovenkamp’s permanent integrated artwork calls for art elements that create warm, welcoming landmarks which is a transformative experience that encourages patrons to leave their busy lives and transition to focus on their happiness, health, wellness and unfortunately to mourn. Later in Van de Bovenkamp’s career, his move into expressionistic painting offered a nostalgic account of how the paintings drew upon memories of brickwork and patterns of his native Holland: “I wondered about patterns in paving, brick walls, art deco and flags. “ In the same text, “Reflection on Painting,” he acknowledges the role of the “loose and free” gestures of his friend William de Kooning on the genesis of his own painting style, particularly by contrast with the arduous process of fashioning sculpture from silicon bronze and marine stainless steel. What is captivating is the correlation between the to and fro of vertical and horizontal forms in Van de Bovenkamp’s massive portal sculptures and the analogous curved forms assembling columns and arches in his drawings and paintings. Van de Bovenkamp’s gentle wisdom and quiet strength have been attained along the course of a fascinating intercultural life journey. Like Van Gogh, Van de Bovenkamp was born in a preacher’s home in Garderen, Holland his father was a Baptist Minister. Van de Bovenkamp learned with good leadership, there is a great future opened to humanity.
His interconnectedness with nature, the tools that are used and the narratives we create, is reaching a pinnacle. For the first time in human history, we have the means to consciously alter the fate of our evolution. New technologies are not only becoming increasingly embedded in our biology to give us unprecedented human abilities, but this transition is also driving us to tap into new ways of being creative and what it means to take care of our environment, as well as be human in the heroic pursuit of happiness and freedom. “I work creatively to offer techniques in my sculptures, drawings and paintings that is current to our day to day life. When you look at my work you see my heart”.
Website: www.vandebovenkamp.com