Henk Visch, Don't wait for me in a borrowed home (1988)
Amongst the shopping public on Stationstraat you’ll find a mysterious passer-by: a bronze figure who seems to walk into Almere straight out of a fairy tale. The sculpture seems to want to walk along with the shoppers who are passing by, but stays calmly in its spot at the corner of Stationstraat and Beeldhouwerpad - sunk in a world of its own. The bronze sculpture Don’t wait for me in a borrowed home by artist Henk Visch stands at this location since 1988.
What is the frontal side of this sculpture?
With his sculptures, Visch often manages to evoke all kinds of associations and stimulate the viewer’s fantasy. Don’t wait for me in a borrowed home, for instance, has a very familiar posture, but is composed in such a way that you are momentarily thrown into confusion as a viewer. What direction is this figure walking in and what constitutes the front of the sculpture precisely? This is exactly what Henk Visch tries to achieve with his work: inviting the viewer to apply his own fantasy to it and stimulate his own thoughts. These aren’t images of individuals, but abstractions of general human functions such as walking and standing still, resting and lying, hearing and seeing, talking and being quiet, smelling and feeling, thinking and dreaming.1 Although Henk Visch frequently reduces his sculptures/figures to simplified forms, and often leaves out parts of the body, the human figures remain clearly recognizable.
Don’t wait for me in a borrowed home is a second casting/copy of the sculpture of the same name that he made especially for his participation in the renowned Venice Biennale of 1988. That year, Henk Visch was invited to represent the Netherlands.
Henk Visch is a versatile artist who expresses himself in various disciplines. He started out as a draughtsman and graphic artist, but since 1981 has applied himself to sculpture as well. Visch is also active as a poet and did the illustrations for the articles of columnist Mirza in newspaper “de Volkskrant”, amongst others.2
Read the personal story of art ambassador Stella van Wijk and employee of the museum Joke Mesker about Don't wait for me in a borrowed home by Henk Visch.
1. Gijs van Tuyl, Catalogue Henk Visch, Dutch Pavilions, Venice Biennale 1988, p. 6.
2. See www.henkvisch.nl
Henk Visch, Don't wait for me in a borrowed home
Henk Visch, 1950 - Eindhoven
Don’t wait for me in a borrowed home
Bronze
175 x 105 x 52 cm
Donation Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds
(Public Servants' Superannuation Fund), 1988
De Collectie Almere / Museum De Paviljoens
Location: Stationstraat, Almere Stad
Contributions
CiskaComments
Ezra
