Leo Vroegindeweij, Untitled, 2004

Leo Vroegindeweij, Untitled, 2004
Location: Center of The Hague: Spui - Grote Marktstraat - Kalvermarkt

For those who only know the early work of sculptor Leo Vroegindeweij (1955), his pedestal sculpture is an eye-opener. While his sculptures from the early 1980s were horizontally oriented, this pedestal piece reaches upward. Moreover, the sleek, geometric appearance of the pedestal sculpture contrasts sharply with the more irregular and personal character of his earlier works.

For the Pedestal Plan, Vroegindeweij created a purely abstract and vertical sculpture. He stacked forty bronze spheres on top of each other, not randomly, but so that the centers of the spheres form an imaginary mathematical figure. This structure is commonly found in nature, such as in molecules and certain chemical compositions. Despite the abstract form, one can discern a figure in a classical pose with a distinct standing and playing leg.

Vroegindeweij made a splash in the early 1980s as one of the new generation of Dutch sculptors. Their poetic and personal sculptures were a response to the minimalist and immaterial art of their predecessors: the minimalists and conceptual artists. At that time, Vroegindeweij was known for folding, cutting, and pleating irregular, abstract forms from sheets of lead and brass. These sometimes resembled large, gray flowers without stems.

Since 1985, Vroegindeweij has incorporated cast elements in concrete or cement into his sculptures. This creates a contrast between the irregular, hand-formed metal and the relatively simple, rough casts. In the years following, the sculptor increasingly used industrial and prefabricated objects such as sewer pipes, steel chains, and curbstones, combining them with precious materials like silver and marble. Despite all the contrasts, there are a few constants in Vroegindeweij's work. As a true sculptor, he focuses on principles like form and counterform, positive and negative, matter and texture. Repetition of shapes and measurements as guiding principles are also essential.