Hans Memling
Bathseba im Bade
(detail on postcard)
ca.
1485
oil
on panel
191
x 84 cm
Staatsgalerie
Stuttgart
Hans Memling
(backside postcard)
There are no direct
predecessors or examples for my sculptures like the Maasbeeld (1982) or the
Floriade monument (2002). Nevertheless Gordon Matta-Clark is an important
artist for me because of his way of thinking about spatiality. He is unique in
his handling of buildings and volumes. He starts from something that is already
there and does an intervention that completely changes the spatiality.
But here I choose the
painting 'Bathsheba im Bade' by Hans Memling. When I am traveling I always have
a postcard with me of a detail of the work showing her head. This is an
important point of reference to me. It is enchanting and transcends everything,
it offers me a grip in the world of art (which is something other than the art
world). Every time again this image is proof to me that art is infinitely
important.
Auke de Vries asks his wife Marijke
de Wit to select one of his works to combine here with Memling. She chooses Untitled, a small sculpture from 2009 for the interior space. The work is her
personal favourite, it gives her a delicate feeling, like the postcard of
Memling does to Auke. It may not be sold and must return after each exhibition.
Auke also asks me to choose a work
for this post. I choose Für Daphne, a large sculpture he made for Magdeburg
in 2001. It is a monumental work, but in it I experience the same refined
elegance as in Memlings painting.
Noted
on behalf of Auke de Vries,
René
Korten, 2018
Auke de Vries
Untitled
2009
painted
metal
83
x 73 x 30 cm
collection
artist
Auke de Vries (NL)
Für Daphne
1999-2001
painted
metal
h
25 m
Magdeburg, Germany
