André Kruysen, Rondanini, 2005

André Kruysen, Rondanini, 2005
Center The Hague: Spui - Grote Marktstraat - Kalvermarkt

Light: that is what André Kruysen (1967) focuses on in his work. For him, it is both the subject and the material. The construction of his often monumental structures is determined by the way light is present at the location where he works. In turn, these bright white, architecturally-appearing structures influence the light or the way it falls. Notably, there is a contrast between the broken, deconstructed space with its tilted and skewed planes and the serenity that the installation radiates. Kruysen makes light palpable, almost magical.

Crucial to his work is an experience the artist had in his youth at the Vedra rock (Ibiza). While diving, he ended up in a cave. The magic that prevailed there has not been found anywhere else. His interest is also influenced by architects/artists such as Le Corbusier, Struycken, and Schwitters. The first two for their pursuit of pure form, color, and (spatial) relationships, and the latter for his anti-art.

Kruysen's pedestal sculpture 'Rondanini' refers, as the title suggests, to Michelangelo's last sculpture of the same name: a Pietà. Even in the abstract pedestal sculpture, one can still discern the figures of Mary holding her deceased son Christ in her arms. Kruysen has conceived the space above the pedestal as an oval tube. He cut it into pieces and then reassembled it with the Rondanini Pietà in mind. The different directions in the sculpture create ambiguity about whether Mary and Christ are supporting each other or if Christ is slipping away. In Kruysen's installations, this same ambivalence is visible in the precarious balance between construction and deconstruction.

Naturally, there is also light present in the pedestal sculpture. The matte black patina of the bronze turns white when exposed to direct sunlight, intensifying the contrasts with the shadowed areas.