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Henk van Putten
Monastery Gate - bronze contemporary modern abstract geometric sculpture

1989

On Hold
$16,500
On Hold
£12,649.34
On Hold
€14,474.41
On Hold
CA$23,318.22
On Hold
A$25,345.98
On Hold
CHF 13,568.11
On Hold
MX$306,374.14
On Hold
NOK 170,984.64
On Hold
SEK 157,692.24
On Hold
DKK 108,100.69

About the Item

Monastery Gate (work no. HVP03012) is the most unique contemporary modern abstract geometric bronze sculpture by acclaimed Dutch constructivist Henk van Putten, who was born in The Netherlands but for many years lived and worked in Auroville, India. Upon Henk's decease early 2019, his estate including sculptures, reliefs, paintings, drawings and even installations passed to his son and daughter back in Amsterdam. A selection of these works was shown to the larger public during a commemorative exhibition in Amsterdam in 2019, including this bronze sculpture Monastery Gate which is considered by the artists' family to be the most valuable work in his estate. The sculpture consists of five separate elements that are cleverly assembled to form one impressive work of art. Each element is made from patinated bronze, the two tallest centre elements are solid bronze, the other three elements are nearly solid. The total weight of the assembled sculpture is over 20 kilograms (46 pounds). Some elements show a little wear due to the assembly and disassembly for exhibition purposes, this is however not visible after the assembly of the sculpture is completed. Henk van Putten originally followed a technical education and worked as an industrial designer in the 50s and 60s of last century. In that same period he extensively travelled Morocco and Spain and lived for a while on Ibiza where he started to work as an artist. Upon his return to The Netherlands in the early 70s he settled in Amsterdam and continued working as an independent sculptor. In the late 90s he became intrigued with India and after numerous trips he decided in 2001 to move permanently to Auroville in the south of India. The sculptures made by Henk are abstract geometric, constructive by nature. His ideal is to create work that has simple but strong shapes, well made and of an interesting construction. The maxim “less is more” is both his starting point as well as final objective, but elimination of constructive elements sometimes results in more, too complex results. Similarly, creating a nice visual appearance sometimes contradicts with creating a logical, well balanced aesthetic. However, over the years his geometrical ideas and the play with newly discovered mathematical ratios have taken precedence. Steel, stone and wood are the most often used materials for his sculptures, all characterized by their own possibilities and limitations. Nevertheless his work, regardless of the used materials, is always made with great accuracy and attention for the smallest details. His older work is often monumental in size although smaller works are a main part of his portfolio. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at many famous galleries and at renowned art fairs including Art Basel, Art Cologne, PAN Amsterdam, Art Rotterdam and KunstRAI Amsterdam. Private and public collections including work by Henk are among others the Yellow Fellow Foundation and Museum Het Valkhof (The Netherlands), Museum Schloss Moyland (Germany), Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (Spain) and Art Parks International (UK). Henk’s work also features in numerous artistic and scientific publications.
  • Creator:
    Henk van Putten (1936 - 2019)
  • Creation Year:
    1989
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.3 in (49 cm)Width: 11.03 in (28 cm)Depth: 2.76 in (7 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Doetinchem, NL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU111527503972

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