Sedimental Journey: River to the Sea, 2022
- Medium: coated glass, plaster, aluminium
- Dimensions: 49,6 x39,5 x 9 cm
ARTIST: FILIP VERVAET
Over the years, Belgian artist Filip Vervaet (b. 1977, Mechelen) has developed his own visual language. Using the most diverse materials - from classic bronze and metal to special paint used for car tuning and colour filters - he merges various elements into a special universe. Art-historical references, references to civilisations that may or may not exist and allusions to science fiction come together in sculptures that dwell in the twilight zone between past and future, while exploring the limits of the medium.
From post-apocalyptic, menacing scenes of his earlier work, Vervaet is increasingly moving towards an artificial representation of nature. Exotic leaves that he has cast in aluminium and assembled into a new species; rough, jagged rock formations; bas-reliefs of imaginative plants in which the traces of his modelling fingers are still visible; these are all examples of the way Vervaet manipulates nature. He thus refers to the malleability of nature, a recurring theme in his work.
He also increasingly exposes the process aspect of his work by making casts from moulds and using them to create new sculptures. It therefore fits within his obsession with the medium of sculpture. Whereas he initially still registers within an existing tradition, he increasingly goes his own way.
With his work, Vervaet wants to expose the black holes of our perception, to offer a glimpse of another reality, the subconscious, the supernatural. In doing so, he also often works with the inside of the sculpture, as a metaphor for the 'subconscious'. The result is a psychedelic dream world that is as fascinating as it is elusive. (text by Sam Steverlynck)
EXTRA INFO
- @courtesey of the artist and Plusone Gallery Antwerpen