Atelier Van Lieshout

Steel
Diverse measurements

The installation consists of two works Drop Hammer House and Phoenix – together harnessing the power of industrial processes in homage to the former Viennese working class neighborhood where the exhibition FOKUS FAVORITEN is taking place. Drop Hammer House quite literally smashes metal objects (including cars) into fodder for new products while Phoenix is a series of kilns used to cast iron, smoke fish, bake bread and incinerate waste, transforming detritus into new energy.

Phoenix (2019) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘De Verleiding‘, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022
‘House of Transition’, Fokus Favoriten, Vienna (AT), 2019 – 2020
‘Ferrotopia‘, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

80 x 50 x 215 cm
Bronze, concrete

Regret, disappointment, shame. All this can be deduced from the way the head hangs, those sloped shoulders and the rag doll as a last vestige. Although Successor is a minimalist sculpture – there is no face with sad eyes or a pouty lip, and it even lacks fingers – it’s enormously expressive. It’s an archetype that is universally recognisable and that everyone can identify with.

Everyone except its creator Joep van Lieshout that is. He knows no shame and considers regret a waste of time. He has to save the world with an overwhelming gesture, crush enemies, leave indelible marks and write history. Yet this sad little man with his shapeless cuddly toy appears again and again in his sketchbooks. As if it worms its way out of the artist’s subconscious through the pencil onto the paper. As Successor – descendant or heir – he takes on the emotions foreign to his creator.

Successor (2023) was part of the following exhibition(s):
Beeldengallerij Haarlem, Haarlem (NL), 2023 – 2025

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
1100 x 600 x 850 cm

Never, Never, Never Give Up is an artists’ studio reflecting on the end of the world and how to prevent it. It is a collection of three buildings developed by Atelier Van Lieshout, in which positive action and positive thinking go hand in hand with the possibility of doomsday scenarios.

The three buildings include: a housing unit, an atelier and a prepper’s den (survival bunker). Artists, curators and researchers temporarily residing on Ruigoord can stay and work here. Visitors to the oasis are welcome to descend and visit this survival bunker deep underground.

With Never, Never, Never Give Up, Van Lieshout appeals to the DIY spirit that AVL shares with the sanctuary that is Ruigoord. The addition of the prepper’s den (a shelter where someone can survive war or the end of the world) plays on the current sense of threat felt by many. However, in Ruigoord, danger comes in many forms and is ever present. The green, peaceful oasis is coming under increasing threat by surrounding industry and encroaching housing development. Yet a creative resistance persists here, in the midst of seemingly overwhelming economic forces.

Never, Never, Never Give Up (2023) was part of the following exhibition(s):
50 jaar Ruigoord, Ruigoord, Amsterdam (NL), 2023 – 2026

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Bronze and Concrete

300 x 380 x 400 cm

Farming followed hunting and gathering. What started with the cultivation of small parcels of land ended with the rise of large, professional companies that have found a balance between seasons and systems. Once run by parent, child and helper- today’s farm is high-tech and increasingly run as a business rather than a `family affair’. The helper is still there, but the child more often follows a path that is removed from farm life. Instead, robots now play a central role in farming and Lely is the forerunner in helping to bridge this transition.

Atelier van Lieshout’s “The Successor” pays tribute to the farming family of yesterday, today and tomorrow. This bronze sculpture seems to grow out of the earth and has a robust posture.

The figures in this ensemble represent today’s farming family, they are ready to solve any opposition or problem and support their livestock by any means or invention imaginable. The concrete plinth refers to a mound, the oldest architectural tool to secure the early Dutch farmland from the sea.

“The Successor” is permanently placed in front of the new Lely Campus, realized by architect Machiel Hopman of Converse Architects – a destination for innovation and farming of the future. This work is about an evolving craft within the profession, while offering cows the right to choose and live “freely”.

“With this new technology cows get a spa treatment and milk on their own body clock, this is the most humane use of technology, maximum animal rights for all the cows we love . “Joep van Lieshout

Lely
Cornelis van der Lelylaan 1
3147 PB Maassluis

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Bronze
250 x 260 x 380 cm

“Brutalism is back,” headlined The New York Times on October 6, 2016. The article was about the revival of an architectural style that had long been ignored because it was perceived as bulky, bare and almost inhumane. But after years of postmodernist frills and bloodless corporate office buildings, appreciation for straightforward brutalism is on the rise again.

This is evident in the redevelopment plans for De Bunker, the most outspoken example of Brutalism in the Netherlands and in keeping with the no-nonsense character of the city of Eindhoven. The BunkerTower is literally based on the crude colossus from 1969. That stark foundation turns out to be fertile ground for architectural and urban renewal.

The Brutalistische Aap [Brutalist Monkey] from Atelier Van Lieshout is the suitable mascot for such stylistic durability. Its rough forms are similar to the unfinished concrete of Brutalism, but gently hint at the curves of Art Deco. Strength and zest for life go hand in hand. The geometric shapes that sit on the monkeys body like architectural bulges emphasize the utilitarian rationality that ultimately drives him.

The Brutalist Monkey is a Bokito who doesn’t let himself go crazy. And he is a King Kong who does not hesitate to climb the tower to repel the air attacks of his puny opponents.

Monkey business. Going ape. Monkey see, monkey doo. Making a monkey of someone. Monkeying about. The mammals that are genetically the most closely related to humans are regularly put in the spotlight in the English language. In proverbs and sayings, the word “monkey” almost always carries the implication of unruly behaviour and even wantonness.

But that is a combination that actually fits Brutalism well. The appearance of The Bunker is unpolished and incredibly direct – thus particularly suited to the student groups that were the original users and undoubtedly monkeyed about.

That characterization also applies to the building’s architecture, Huig Maaskant. For his most famous design, the Groot Handelsgebouw in Rotterdam, he provided interior streets so wide that he could drive his own car, an enormous American muscle car, through the building. He silenced critics by saying, “You remind me of my wife. For the last twenty-five years, she has also been looking for shoes that are big on the inside and small on the outside.”

The monumental qualities of Maaskant’s architecture are now widely recognized. The Bunker is even getting a second life as a pedestal for a contemporary tower. It emphasizes the historical value and timeless power of this primal building and conveniently mirrors how we as humans evolutionarily stand on the shoulders of apes.

BunkerToren
John F Kennedylaan 3
5612 AB Eindhoven
The Netherlands

Copper
550 x 550 x 1000 cm

To celebrate its sixtieth anniversary, the University of Twente unveiled a special work of art on Thursday, 19 May 2022: The Head. This 10-metre tall creation by artist Joep van Lieshout has been given a prominent place at the entrance to the university grounds.

Visitors can not only see the work of art from the outside, but can also climb into it. A narrow staircase takes you to a platform on top of the head, where you have a view over the campus on the one hand and the Kennispark on the other.

The Head marks the possibilities and dilemmas on the eve of the fourth industrial revolution, when the boundaries between the physical, digital and biological worlds are blurred. The sculpture is a monument to the waning of human dominance. A totem that marks the crossroads where we are now and a lookout to the future.

COR-ten steel
1300 x 430 x 400 cm

The Whale rests on the shore, not unlike the catch brought in by the whalers of centuries past. The majestic animal will not be dissected for blubber to fuel lamps or grease machinery, however, as it’s made of steel. It appears more similar to a barge, than a marine mammal.

The Whale is Atelier Van Lieshout’s salute to nature’s power, human technological ingenuity and the ways these often clash. Moreover, it’s a life-size reference to Moby Dick, the world’s most famous whale. In Joep van Lieshout’s view, Moby Dick is a tale of revenge and the struggle of man, personified by Captain Ahab vs. nature. It’s rather telling that in the end, man – who considers himself above nature -is defeated by the forces he tries to control and master.

Van Lieshout’s The Whale is Ahab’s nemesis and Old Testaments Jonah’s organic prison rolled into one. The animal has outsmarted its pursuers, but has also partly become them by transforming into a welded steel hulk. Holes in its side allow people to look into its belly, where one sees a figure in the middle of the whale. This could be Jonah praying for his salvation or a present-day Ahab pondering his warped relationship with nature.

The Whale (2022) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Arts Le Havre‘, Le Havre (FR), 2022
The Rebellion, Luxembourg Art Week, Luxembourg (Lux), 2023

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, steel, wood
250 x 300 x 580 cm

This composting machine is a true omnivore. At the top of the spiral staircase sits a compost toilet, where one can relieve oneself while enjoying the view. The lower part consists of urinals, vomit and ejaculation stations. All human waste is collected and recycled. Man feeds the machine and becomes one with it — a recurrent theme in AVL’s work.

Excrementus Megalomanus (2019) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical‘, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020
‘In the Age of Post-Drought‘, Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven (NL), 2019
Transnatural, Into The Great Wide Open, Vlieland (NL), 2019

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, steel
Diverse measurements

Voluminous and yet respectful, this distinctive artwork revives the idea of Drei Grazien (Three Graces) to whom we attribute incomparable gracefulness. Appearing both figurative and abstract, the megalithic sculptures—influenced by light and shadow—offer a constantly changing presence. Based upon the ideal number 3 and set at the meeting point of three roads, the sculptures have the appearance of mythical figures ascending from the depths. Primal conceptions of coming to be and passing away come alive along with the reference to the eclogite occurrence in the nearby Hohlfelsen rock. “You might think that these three voluptuous female figures—once hidden below the Austrian soil—have finally found their way to the surface”, says Joep van Lieshout. This also puts time into perspective, interweaving the past, the present and the future world of imagination and visualizing constant change.

Commission
Location: Wies, Austria

Fiberglass, steel, bronze coating
300 x 270 x 550

This sculpture represents a glucose molecule (C6H12O6); it shows the source of energy for human existence. This molecule is an essential fuel for our muscles and brain, which stimulate humans to create, discover and move. Nothing would work without glucose. Our lives, our machines, our vehicles and our cities would come to a halt without this fuel. De Onmisbare (The indispensable) is a contemporary artistic interpretation of this chemical structure.

Commission
Location: Station Kampen, The Netherlands

Aluminium
Group of 9 sculptures

The Humanoids created for the park in Miami Beach, are part of AVL’s ongoing fascination with man, machine and humanity. They appear as abstract figures, which use the park and the natural environment as their habitat, formulating a subtle statement about our relationship to nature and our origins. The sculptures will be placed throughout the park, along the canal and amidst the trees. The Humanoids invite visitors to engage, stimulate social interaction and contemplation, whether it be to use them as rendezvous spots, places to remember, sketch, write, think or talk.

A video of Humanoids (2019) via this link

Commission
Location: Collins Canal Park, Miami (USA)

Fiberglass
620 x 500 x 268 cm

The Essential Dwelling is an imaginary tribal dwelling which takes humankind back to its origins, recalling a primitive state of being. Its appearance was dictated from the inside out, its interior spaces look like they were hewn out of stone, sculpted around the basic amenities needed for living – an ultimate example of “Form follows Function”.

Like the tribal objects, The Essential Dwelling makes a link with the modernist movement. Its organic shapes and primitive production methods, however, make it the complete opposite of Modernism. The sculpture is at the same time contemporary and idealistic, as well as primeval and archaic.

The Essential Dwelling (2015) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Primitive Modern‘, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels (BE), 2015

Location: Mallorca (ES)

Steel
Diverse measurements

The purpose-built Drop Hammer House was created specifically for the NDSM to represent destruction, recycling and production in a circular economy. “A circular economy could be very positive: no waste, reuse of products, smart recycling, no exhaustion of energy and materials. It relates back to the concept in my work Cradle to cradle in the SlaveCity Project, where even the recycling of humans was a rational thing: humans to be used and reused without ethical concern. We celebrate destruction without a clear goal, melting objects and using wreckage to make sculpture. In doing so, we lure the dark side towards an optimistic, circular economy.”

This totem forms the centrepiece of the large-scale project The End of Everything; it is the ultimate destructor, whilst at the same time the creator of new work. The work is a machine of destruction as well as a home, providing room for the Venus/destructor to become one with the process of destruction.

Drop Hammer House (2018) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Living the Habitat‘, Open House, Geneva (CH), 2022
‘House of Transition’, Fokus Favoriten, Vienna (AT), 2019 – 2020
‘Ferrotopia‘, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass
Diverse measurements

The Troglodyte is a functional work of art that provides a changing room, toilet and shelter for the departure point for sailing in the municipality of Neerpelt. At the same time it is also a shelter in the most original sense of the word, an imaginary cave house that takes people back to their origins. The work fits into a long tradition of underground dwellings, which have provided human housing for centuries. But the work of art also refers to the prehuman time, to the origin: to the water that seeps through the landscape, through centuries and ice ages slowly grinding the river into the landscape, the river on which man now navigates, sails, relaxes. It is also reminiscent of boulders that nature has laid down in the landscape, the Hunebeds and Megaliths of early humans.

Commission
Location: Neerpelt (BE)

Steel, wood

Big Boiler is based on a temazcal, a type of sweat lodge which originated among pre-Columbian people in Mesoamerica. The lodge was used curatively after battle or a ceremonial ball game. The contemporary version has been upgraded with an ice bath and a hot tub, offering a rejuvenating cycle of hot and cold, beginning and ending.

Big Boiler (2018) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘De Verleiding’, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020
‘Ferrotopia’, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Steel
570 x 250 x 245 cm

Cage consists out of three steel cages, which have been pressed together and pulled apart. This process has transformed the rational and strict geometry of the original cages to become an organic and fictile-looking sculpture that immediately questions the notion of freedom.

Atelier Van Lieshout’s work often refers to systems in which mankind functions today. This work too considers those systems and encourages the viewer to reflect on the role of mankind within the societal, political and economic systems. Humans now wish to free themselves from the exact same systems, hoping to break free from what they have brought upon themselves.

Cage (2017) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Vrijplaats bij MIJ‘, Museum IJsselstein, IJsselstein (NL), 2019
‘Façade‘, Middelburg (NL), 2017
Welkom in Leiden!?, Leiden (NL), 2020

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Steel

The starting point for Les Acrobates is the notion of collaboration, science and creativity, which is central to its location, next to the research centre Inria in Saclay, Île-de-France. The work is made from galvanised steel, after which it was deformed by hydraulic presses in a controlled, uncontrolled manner, and welded. The result is a playful, happy double human form built on top of one another. Just like in science and research, this work of art was created by a process of trial and error.

Les Acrobates symbolises collaboration and solidarity. With a mirrored double human figure, the work refers to an equilibrium, a constant and familiar structure. But also, it shows a moment of successful completion, a breakthrough – the irrational process that follows scientific research. The sculpture is an homage to the intangible which forms the basis of everything, but especially of science: creativity, imagination and dreams.

Steel, fiberglass
250 x 220 x 720 cm

Pulse is an interactive installation which aims to engage the inhabitants of Graz and to be at the heart of the community, expressing the pulse, the life of the city. The artwork is as a beacon, sending out lightsignals. These lightsignals will ‘beat’ to the same ‘rhytym’ as the pulse of a human heart. Every time a child is born in the Graz – which is approximately 11 times a day – the pulse and the intensity of the light will become stronger.

With this artwork, Atelier Van Lieshout wants to create a poetic collective moment for the citizens of Graz. Every time Pulse’s light intensifies, the artwork will celebrate the beginning of a human life, a new member of the community added. The artwork will enhance the existing sense of community, both by creating a collective experience and by serving as a physical landmark.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, glass
800 x 450 x 550 cm

Y Caban is a modern-day interpretation of the quarrymen’s Caban. It’s a hut that has different uses: to perform, to argue, to discuss and to dream.

Commission
Location: the city of Bangor Wales.

Fiberglass, steel, wood
940 cm x 390 cm x 880 cm

Domestikator is a large scale artwork that serves as a totem, a temple and a beacon. It symbolizes the power of humanity over the world and pays tribute to the ingenuity, the sophistication and the capacities of humanity, to the power of organisation, and to the use of this power to dominate the natural environment. In order to support 7 billion people, agriculture has become an industry, with factory farming and genetic manipulation a necessity. This provides us with an ethical dilemma, as this kind of farming seems to border on abuse. At the same time, the literal abuse of animals, bestiality, is one of the last remaining taboos. Why is it that treating an animal like a fellow human is an unspeakable act, whilst treating an animal like a resource for industrial production is the norm?

Domestikator is part of the larger installation The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Good the Bad and the Ugly is a temporary settlement in Bochum, Germany that was designed for the Ruhrtriennale, a festival for theatre, music, dance and arts.

Domestikator (2015) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Ferrotopia‘, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, Ruhrtriennale, Bochum (DE), 2015/2016/2017
‘Centre Pompidou’, Paris (FR), 2017

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, styrofoam
250 x 230 x 240 cm

“Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win”, said UK international Gary Lineker after losing the 1990 World Cup semi-final to
Germany. Weltmeister refers to another, more sinister part of German history. This cadaveric ball or globe refers to the eugenics programme of nazi Germany aimed at breeding a species of supermen to rule the world.

Weltmeister (2010) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass
Divere measurements

The Tribe is a tribute to cooperation, the bedrock of all civilizations and culture. In the past, chances of survival improved by growing food together, collectively building shelters and cultivating the land as a group. Especially in The Netherlands with its dikes and land reclamation, its united fight against the water, cooperation was and still is key. The Frederik Hendrikplantsoen in Amsterdam previously was the site of saw mills, where wood was cut to build houses, furniture and the ships that made Holland a seafaring superpower in the 17th century. Joep van Lieshout reflected on this site’s history by creating a group of figures collecting wood and carrying tree trunks. The work is about collaboration and people working together in bands to build a city, a community, a future. The Dutch title of the work, ‘Stam’, significantly means both ‘tree trunk’ and ‘tribe’.

Fiberglass, wood
880 x 295 x 340 cm

For the near future, Atelier Van Lieshout foresees the emergence of a new tribal world, a primitive society where production takes centre stage. This world will see a return to farming and industry – which currently both have been banished from our society – and a re-establishment of our relationship with materials – which now has been lost. In this new world, ethics will be of little importance. Instead, rituals will be re-valued, and will offer the tribes of the future guidance.

Atelier Van Lieshout is taking an advance on this future, and is creating all necessary equipment for the imaginary tribes, ranging from items of worship and sacrifice to objects for daily use, dwellings and machines. All these artworks together make the huge Gesamtkunstwerk that is New Tribal Labyrinth.

Soap Factory (2013) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Ferrotopia‘, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Bronze
220 x 208 x 431 cm

The Monument references classical rider monuments and the political, military, and representative function of such statues: celebrating heroes of the past and current forces of power. However, in this monument the standard allegorical nature is replaced by stylised forms and fragmented bodies. The figurative and visual language of this work should be read as a warning signal, directed towards the present and future.

The Monument (2015) was part of the following exhibition(s):
The Rebellion, Luxembourg Art Week, Luxembourg (Lux), 2023

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass
1500 x 1000 x 350 cm

Farming is one of a pillars of the New Tribal Labyrinth. Atelier van Lieshout will create farms for the future, but also from the pre-history, the year zero, the Middle Ages, the Golden Age, and post-war modernist utopia. The final goal is to create a larger than life farm which consist of all the individual farms, connected by tunnels, corridors, doors and hatches. By entering this farm, visitors will engage in labyrinth-like time-travel through the ages, past history, hope, family, utopia, self sufficiency, design and deviancy.

Hagioscoop is the first of this series, a large cross-shaped diorama set in the imaginary date of “year zero”. It consists of four parts: an large Adobe style kitchen, cave-like sleeping quarters, a deconstructivist carpenters workshop and a rough stable. The farm can be entered on the inside, but also viewed from the outside through small openings – comparable to the small windows which can be found in some churches, which enabled outcasts to witness the celebration of mass from outside – the so-called Hagioscoop.

Hagioscoop (2012) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Inner Spaces‘, MDD Museum, Deinze (BE), 2020 – 2021
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014

Watch a video of Hagioscoop (2012) via this link

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Mixed media
120 x 220 x 460 cm

Since ancient times oracles have been both loved and feared messengers of advice. Atelier Van Lieshout made its own oracle in a style that reminds of primitive African art and resembles a totem or idol. The Oracle is made of steel and equipped with a mechanism that enables the giant head to talk and move its mouth, neck, ears and eyes.The Oracle reflects on power relations between and within society.

The work asks how people are mentally fed, what type of information we consume and how we reproduce this information, and how we reproduce this information. Do we formulate our own thoughts or mindlessly copy those of others? The Oracle touches on themes as freedom of speech, political correctness and incorrectness, and the (im)possibility of privacy and anonymity.

On May 5th, Liberation Day, (on which the German Army’s surrender in the Netherlands in 1945 is commemorated and the liberation of the country is celebrated), The Oracle was presented on Dam Square in Amsterdam. All day long The Oracle orated text messages from the public and reflected the views of the community. The Oracle received widespread attention from both national and international press.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Bronze
500 x 300 x 700 cm

Equilibrist, which is placed in front of a shopping mall in Malmo, Sweden, represents a mass of human shapes clinging on to boxes, packages, consumer goods, holding on for dear live, and struggling to keep their balance in the process. It symbolises humanities urge to consume, as well as the limitations it meets whilst striving to achieve this goal. The design predates the current economic crisis, and reflects on the struggle, the precarious balance between ambitions and prosperity on the one hand and the fall which this can bring about on the other hand. This applies both to the microlevel of the individual, the macrolevel of our economic system and the metalevel of society as a whole.

Fiberglass, styrofoam
320 x 245 x 280 cm

Power Hammer is part of New Tribal Labyrinth series, for which AVL sculpted ‘monuments to machines’. AVL created these sculptures in reaction to globalization and the transfer of industrial production to low-wage countries, resulting in the dramatic decline of manufacturing know how in the West. The fleshy skin on this mechanical hammer has been opened here and there to expose its ‘guts’, as if it’s a living organism.

Power Hammer (2014) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, Ruhrtriennale, Bochum (DE), 2015
‘Power Hammer’, GRIMM Gallery, Amsterdam (NL), 2015

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, wood
715 x 725 x 850 cm

The steam hammer was invented in Manchester in 1837 and gave the industrial revolution a massive boost. Once an example of high-tech, it is now a stark reminder of obsolescence. Steam Hammer House contains a kitchen, office, bathroom and toilet. It’s a place of work where man and machine become one.

Steam Hammer House (2014) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, Ruhrtriennale, Bochum (DE), 2015
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass
575 x 390 x 220 cm

This vice is part of New Tribal Labyrinth series, for which AVL sculpted ‘monuments to machines’. This specific tool has been enlarged to impractical size. It confront us with the West’s now defunct manufacturing industry that has been replaced by a service economy. It’s unclear whether it is part of a post-apocalyptic survival strategy or a nostalgic reminder of authentic labour.

Vice (2014) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Aluminium
Diverse measurements

Caen has been subject to a very tumultuous twentieth century: a city on the frontline, its citizens being faced with difficult choices, either to stay but possibly lose their lives or leave all they know and care for and head out into an unknown future. For the Place Saint-Saveur, Atelier Van Lieshouthas created a sculpture that symbolizes this ever-present human dilemma: the choice between the known and the unknown, between security and insecurity, between tradition and progress.

For Place Saint-Saveur, we proposed a sculptural group consisting of human-like shapes, symbolizing the ‘Bourgeois de Caen’. The group appears to be huddled together, like a line of figures that flow over in each other like a Laocoon, sometimes realistic, sometimes abstract. The figures are not heavy, however, but light, airy; people will be able to see trough them and walk between them.

The figures symbolize the different emotions that people go through in a time of conflict: heroism, fear, rebellion, survival, flight, compassion, cowardice, joy, loneliness – a mass of humans, insecure, doubtful and chaotic. Opposed to this, the statue of Louis XVI seems to symbolize security, power and order. At the same time, however, his image is a leftover from the Ancient-Regime.

Fiberglass
285 x 188 x 195 cm

The Burghers symbolizes the ever-present human dilemma: the choice between the known and the unknown, between security and insecurity, between tradition and progress. The monumental sculpture draws from a universal and timeless theme: what does one do in an emergency situation? The figures, huddled together like a Laocoon, represent the different emotions that people go through in a time of conflict: heroism, fear, rebellion, survival, escape, compassion, cowardice, joy, loneliness – a mass of humans, insecure, doubtful and chaotic.

The Burghers (2013) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Poly Pluto Pluri’, Galería OMR, Mexico City (MX), 2017

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Steel
1800 x 1000 x 1050 cm

Steel, produced in blast furnaces, was the most important product of the Industrial Revolution, and has laid the foundation of our current wealth. Therefore, Atelier Van Lieshout realized the artwork Blast Furnace. Blast Furnace, a majestic machinery measuring 12 by 24 by 11 meters, seems to grow like an organic organism. The steel monster evokes an image of the archetypical industrial relicts of the early 20th century, which is given a new, utopian meaning by Atelier Van Lieshout. Blast Furnace will be driven by manpower and simple mechanics. Floors and alcoves will be installed in the innards of the machine: a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom. Human activity takes place throughout the entire installation. It is as if the Tribe of the Metalworkers consciously choose to become one with the furnace, and to live amidst the noise, dirt and dust. Instead of wanting to return to Nature, this tribe wants to return to Industry, to raw materials, to simple products, to social cohesion.

Blast Furnace (2013) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Blast Furnace’, Art OMI, Ghent (USA), 2019 – 2021
‘The CryptoFuturist and The New Tribal Labyrinth’, Pioneer Works, New York (USA), 2019
‘The Butcher’, La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille (FR), 2013

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, wood
580 x 295 x 340 cm

Temple serves as a retreat for the farmer, for contemplation and worship. It is a sheltered space, half underground and covered with grass and sand. Inside is a statue of a Funnelhead, a frequently recurring theme in the works of AVL. Funnelhead is a symbol for the human state, being force-fed physically as well as mentally.

Temple, 2012 Funnelhead, 2012 Barbaar, 2012

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass
415 x 350 x 330 cm

This series of three monumental canons shows different techniques developed throughout the past century. Ranging from the artisanal look of the WWI canon to the stylized WWIII canon. these monumental heroic works indirectly refer to Joep’s depiction of a terryfying vision of the future with food scarcity, war and epidemics.

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com

Fiberglass, steel

The free market economy is driven by individual self-interest. Supply and demand interact, making prices go up or down. An equilibrium automatically arises that benefits all. Adam Smith dubbed it ‘the invisible hand’ in 1776. In today’s and tomorrow’s economy the individual is being played in much the same way.

The Invisible Hand (2012) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘De Verleiding’, Bosch Parade, ‘s Hertogenbosch (NL), 2022
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020
‘Market Forces’, HERO Gallery, Amsterdam (NL), 2018
‘The Invisible Hand’, Parc Tournay de Solvay , Brussels (BE), 2016

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com