Hans Op de Beeck

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck - The Horseman, 2020, polyester, steel, polyamide, brass, coating, 194 x 92 x 243 cm | 76,38 x 36,22 x 95,66 in. Ed. 3 + 2 APLOOK AT THE VIDEO'The Horseman', a life-size sculpture of a man on a horse, presents us with an enigmatic, nomadic horseman, a figure that evokes both to the lonely traveller of all times and the homeless migrant of today, in search of a better life. His companion is a little monkey sitting on his shoulder, holding a parasol in its hand to protect its owner from the sun. The horse carries handy work tools on the flanks and small collections of banal as well as mysterious objects that presumably are of great importance to the traveller.

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck - Lily, 2020, Sculpture: polyester, steel, polyamide, coating, 180 x 39 x 39 cm | 70,86 x 15,35 x 15,35 inEd. 5 + 2 APLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘Lily’ is a sculpted, classic still-life of a most slender table with a draped tablecloth and a vase with a graceful branch with lily flowers. The extreme verticality of the work emphasises its vulnerability as well as the feeling of the flowers reaching up to the sky. 

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck - The Boatman, 2020, polyester, steel, wood, MDF, epoxy, glass fiber, polyamide, synthetic gypsum, coating, reed, glass, PA, rubber, bamboo, 400 x 400 x 180 cm | 157,48 x 157,48 x 70,86 in. Unique workLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘The Boatman’ is a life-size statue of a man on a small rowing boat, seemingly pushing the boat away from a bank. Like 'The Horseman', he is a homeless loner, a middle-aged man, halfway through life, always on the move. He has packed his whole life together on the small boat; means of survival, personal belongings and goods that he can offer for sale or exchange are stacked and tied up in an improvised way.

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck - Dog (bronze), 2019, bronze, coating, 62 x 37 x 13 cm | 14,56 x 24,40 x 5,11 in. Ed. 3 + 2 APLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘Dog’ is a life-size sculpture of a sleeping dog, a very simple and everyday scene, which speaks of the calm and tranquillity of the passing of time.

Hans Op de Beeck - The Cliff (wall piece), 2019, polyester, steel, coating, 230 x 116 x 212 cm | 90,55 x 45,66 x 83,46 in. Ed. 3 + 2 APLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘The Cliff (wall piece)’ features an adolescent couple sitting atop a headland on the edge of the precipice. The girl’s open gaze lingers in the distance, as if preoccupied with something beyond the setting, while the boy’s attention is entirely focused on her. It is a bittersweet image of young love’s vagaries laced with innocence and designed to appeal to the viewer’s sentiment. The story of childhood, of growing up, is represented as a form of sublime enchantment punctuated by the overwhelming perception of a world not yet lived to which we are enticed to return. It also highlights Op de Beeck’s recurring concern with change, where different stages of our lives are punctuated with the weight of waiting before transitioning into a new phase – here, the advent of first love signals the passage into adulthood and the loss of innocence.

Hans Op de Beeck - Mum and Dad, 2019, Sculpture: polyester, wood, coating, 165 x 42 x 42 cm | 64,96 x 16,53 x 16,53 inEd. 5 + 2 APLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘Mum and Dad’ is a 1/2 scale sculpture of an aged couple on the lookout in their dressing gowns, as if something happened on the street at night, and they want to find out what's going on from the doorway. Their body language and facial expression speak volumes about their age and their relationship.

Hans Op de Beeck - The Hideout, 2020, wood, glass, steel, polyamide, coating, mixed media, 120 x 41 x 216,5 cm | 42,24 x 16,41 x 85,23 inUnique workLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘The Hideout’ is a showcase made at the artist’s studio, with on the inside a sculpture of a nocturnal landscape on scale. At the highest point of the unruly rocky landscape is a bare tree with a treehouse in which a light burns as if someone is present. The background of the landscape is a starry sky. The scene appears like a fairy-tale like, congealed memory.

Hans Op de Beeck - Vanitas (Variation) 29, 2019, plaster, wood, steel, polyamide, polyester, coating, 93 x 42 x 88 cm  | 36,61 x 16,53 x 34,64 inLOOK AT THE VIDEO‘Vanitas (variation) 29’ is a monochrome grey sculpture of a baroque still life on a tablecloth, in which, by free association, classical and contemporary ornamented elements were brought together to form a visually festive whole. Nevertheless, as befits the Vanitas tradition, it is also a memento mori.

Hans Op de Beeck - Celeste & Egon, 2020, wood, polyamide, stainless steel, coating, 105 x 85 x 167 cm | 41,33 x 33,46 x 65,78 in. Ed. 5 + 2 APLOOK AT THE VIDEOIn 2015 Op de Beeck made a film with puppets, animated live by puppeteers dressed in black. With 'Celeste & Egon' he takes up the concept of the representation of man as a doll. The dolls are sculpted from wood, and the limbs are connected by the typical doll joints. For the artist, the human doll contains a feeling of defencelessness and silent tragedy. In the work 'Celeste & Egon' we see the vulnerability of the male protagonist who has fallen and the helplessness and doubt of the female character.

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck - Celeste (smoking), 2020, wood, polyamide, stainless steel, coating, 40 x 40 x 167 cm | 15,78 x 15,78 x 65,74 in. Ed. 5 + 2 APIn 2015 Op de Beeck made a film with puppets, animated live by puppeteers dressed in black. With 'Celeste (smoking)', he takes up the concept of the representation of man as a doll. The dolls are sculpted from wood, and the limbs are connected by the typical doll joints. For the artist, the human doll contains a feeling of defencelessness and silent tragedy. In the work we see the female character alone, in a moment of contemplation, with the so human, simple act of smoking a cigarette and taking a break.

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck - Romeo, 2020, black-and-white watercolour on Arches paper in wooden frames, 308 x 4,5 x 136 cm | 121,26 x 11,43 x 345,44 inUnique work

Hans Op de Beeck - Anthony, 2020, black-and-white watercolour on Arches paper in wooden frames, 139 x 4,5 x 252 cm | 54,72 x 11,43 x 99,21 inUnique work

Hans Op de Beeck -

Hans Op de Beeck -