A Gentle Invasion @ Nirox Sculpture Park.

Group trip to Nirox Sculpture Park for the opening of an exhibition of sculptures, entitled ‘A Gentle Invasion’, by the dutch artist, Auke de Vries.

Date: Sunday, 28 February 2010
Time: 10:00 – 15:00
Location: Nirox Sculpture Park
Route T9, Kromdraai Road, The Cradle Of Humankind, Lanseria

INVITATION
Auke de Vries (sculptor NL,1937)
‘A Gentle Invasion: Sculptures for South Africa’
NIROX SCULPTURE PARK, CRADLE OF HUMANKIND

Please join us in the NIROX SCULPTURE PARK
on sunday 28 February from 10 AM for the opening
of an exhibition of sculptures, entitled ‘A Gentle Invasion’,
by the dutch artist, Auke de Vries.

Tea will be served in the garden and Auke will walk guests through the show at 11 AM providing his unique insights into the spatial and other issues that drive the creation of his remarkable work.

NIROX is a private foundation set in 15 hectares of an extensive nature reserve in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The complex lies 45 minutes outside Johannesburg.

NOTES ON THE ARTIST:

Auke de Vries is a leading Dutch sculptor who lives and works in The Hague. His iconic, monumental public sculptures are prominent in numerous European cities and he is widely collected, privately and publicly.

The illustration shows his work ‘Gelandet’ astride the Renzo Piano designed Daimler office on Potsdamer Platz, Berlin.

‘A Gentle Invasion’ is Auke’s response to his enduring intrigue with South Africa, as a jury member of the annual Mercedes-Benz Award for South African Art & Culture and through his residencies at the NIROX Foundation over the past two years.

The work for this exhibition has been produced in his studio in The Hague and shipped with the support of the Mondriaan Foundation and the Netherlands Embassy. The installation follows Auke’s carefully researched and articulate plan for the NIROX landscape and studios, revealing his intense examination of scale and the relationship between sculpture, man and nature – revealing his unique poetic vision and mastery of his materials.

The exhibition comprises 11 large new works and a collection of small sculptures and drawings which reflect the artist’s studio and workshop, providing an intimate insight into his working process and personal visual language.

Auke will be in residence at NIROX intermittently during the show.