Water, light and movement are the main ingredients of Bert Frijns’ works. With minimalist simplicity and a strong sense of poetry he has worked with these elements for almost three decades. From 22nd May a selection of the artist’s work will be presented both indoors and outdoors at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft.
Since 1992, Bert Frijns has been living with his family on a farm on an island in the South Western province of Zeeland. Surrounded by the North Sea and living close to nature the artist is inspired by the area’s significant landscape on a daily basis.
In his work, Bert Frijns concentrates on sculptural vessels, which he varies endlessly. Transparent and polished or sand blasted and mat. Tall and straight, leaning towards one side or elegantly balancing on the edge of a stone. With or without water, half filled or filled to the edge. Standing alone or several vessels resting in one another. The interplay with light and the intervention with the surrounding space are common features for all his sculptures. In the museum’s exhibition catalogue, author and glass expert, Dan Klein, writes: ”Bert Frijns empowers his vessels with meaning. Sometimes they stand upright; sometimes they lean or lie on their sides suggesting almost human traits. Some contain water and others just the lightness of air. They interact with the ground on which they stand, the surfaces against which they lean or the stone bases upon which they rest. Their mood changes as the light changes.”
Bert Frijns graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 1978 and has taken supplementary courses at the Academy’s Glass Department. For a short time he worked with blown glass, but he soon found his favourite method of working: Slumping. Working solely with window glass he has developed his own method of making his characteristic, monumental vessels. Even though the finished works appear simple, they are the result of a long and technically difficult process. A sheet of flat window glass is laid on a circular iron ring supported on four slender legs. The surface of the ring is covered with isolating material. It is put into the kiln and the slumping process is begun. This method requires vast knowledge of how the heat will affect the glass. In order for a monumental vessel to balance in exactly the right way or to allow it to lean at a given angle without falling over, some areas of the glass need to be thicker than others. After the firing is completed, Frijns finishes the work using a diamond saw to cut the edges and finally polishes or sandblasts it.
In 1986, Bert Frijns created a significant installation called ”Wet mirror Object” for a group exhibition at Fort Asperen – the ruins of an ancient Dutch fort. It was a simple work, but had an incredible impact: A vast shallow disc half filled with water was hung under the central dome in the building. Every seven-second a drop of water was released into the disc by way of an installation using hospital tubing. Dan Klein writes about the piece: ”The effect of the precise sounds of carefully programmed falling water drops and the resulting ripples across the surface of the water was magical and brought new life and new relevance to this long abandoned structure,” Minimalism, simplicity and a magical power has since become a trademark for Frijns’ art.
With its spacious interior and varying daylight, which constantly changes with the weather, the new museum wing provides the perfect space for experiencing Bert Frijns’ poetic work. The museum garden will also be incorporated into the exhibition, which will give visitors the opportunity to experience the influence of the outdoor light and the changing weather on a series of freestanding sculptures. This is the first time that the garden will be used for larger exhibition purposes.
The exhibition has been sponsored by The Mondriaan Foundation and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands.
The exhibition will be opened by Ambassador Mr. Gerard J.H.C. Kramer, The Dutch Embassy in Denmark, on Thursday 22nd May at 5.00pm.
Exhibition:
INTERPLAY WITH LIGHT: 22nd May - 12th November 2008
Exhibition catalogue:
Glasmuseet Ebeltoft has published a catalogue with text by Dan Klein.
Press images can be downloaded here.
"Discover the light" - an audience competition:
In connection with the exhibition the museum invites visitors to take part in a photo competion using their mobile phones to catch the interplay with light in the works exhibited, and send them to the museum at: psf@glasmuseet.dk. Every month the Photo of the Month will be displayed on the museum's homepage.
Explore the exhibition:
Explore the exhibition in depth with your family. Ask for a questionnaire at the reception and enjoy the exhibition in an actively and joyous way together.
For further information, please contact:
Dagmar Brendstrup, Executive Director, tel: +45 86 34 17 99 / +45 23 23 52 54
e-mail: dab@glasmuseet.dk
or
Pia Strandbygaard Frandsen, Head of PR and Communication, tel: +45 86 34 17 99 / +45 40 32 19 93, e-mail: psf@glasmuseet.dk
