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Ger van Elk
1941–2014, Amsterdam (NL)

Ger van Elk 1941–2014, Amsterdam (NL)

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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: A sculpture of pieces of rope hanging from a string suspended over a wooden floor in a gallery.
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: A sculpture of pieces of rope hanging from a string suspended over the ground outdoors.

Ger van Elk

Touwsculptuur / Rope Sculpture, 1968
Rope and cord
Variable dimensions

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) A sculpture of pieces of rope hanging from a string suspended over a wooden floor in a gallery.
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) A sculpture of pieces of rope hanging from a string suspended over the ground outdoors.
Van Elk’s 'Touwsculptuur / Rope Sculpture', a spatial form whose biomorphic formation gives the sensation of it being almost alive, is typical for the “slack” artworks from his a-dynamic period....
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Van Elk’s "Touwsculptuur / Rope Sculpture", a spatial form whose biomorphic formation gives the sensation of it being almost alive, is typical for the “slack” artworks from his a-dynamic period. The material is what it is: sculpture made of ropes. This shows his heartfelt conviction that there is no such thing as a noble hierarchy of materials. With "Touwsculptuur / Rope Sculpture", the negative space is as much a part of the work as the lengths of rope. The viewer’s perceptual l experience and their physical relationship to these forms give them the immediacy of a chance interaction.

The loose natural form of "Touwsculptuur/ Rope Sculpture" contributes a sense of the possibilities arising from post-minimalism, that balanced an economy of materials with rigorous conceptual, and philosophical intention. This work was among those that garnered the attention of famed curator Harald Szeemann in the late 1960s. In 1968 Szeeman met with the artist at his home in Amsterdam where they discussed his ideas which ultimately led to the inclusion this work in the landmark show, "Live in Your Head: When Attitudes Become Form" in 1969.
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Exhibitions

Bearable Lightness of Being, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL), 2017

Markus Lüttgen, Cologne (DE), 2016

Nature Mortes, Liliane et Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris (FR), 1988

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (NL), 1978

When Attitudes Become Form, Kunsthalle, Bern (CH); Museum Haus Lange,Krefeld (DE); Intstitute of Contemporary Art, London (UK), 1969

Galleria La Nuova Loggia, Bologna (IT), 1968

Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (NL), 1968


- 54 White Street | Inaugural Exhibition, GRIMM, New York (US), 20 March - 17 April 2021

Literature

Ger van Elk. Bloemheuvel, Marente; Eyck, Zsa-Zsa. Deventer: Thieme, 2009, p. 114-115

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Keizersgracht 241

1016 EA, Amsterdam

The Netherlands

2 Bourdon Street

London, W1K 3PA

United Kingdom

 

54 White Street

New York, NY 10013

United States

 

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