André Vranken

Five years of classical art education left indelible traces on my visual vocabulary. Nevertheless it felt as an absolute victory leaving anatomy behind and mix figuration with abstraction so I could develop a grammar that fits my soul.

This grammar consists of architectural elements: strong horizontal and vertical joints, high walls, incisions, bulges and twists. But it has also another component: sensual and tangible, not only smooth but also raw and razor-sharp.

Traces of the production-process lie on the surface. Traces of cutting, melting, moulding, welding, they testify to the love for the material.

1961: Born in Maastricht (NL) on December 26th 1961
My parents own a discotheque in Eijsden, Belgian border.
1974: Boarding school in Maaseik, Belgium
1978: Veldeke College Maastricht
1980: Art School Maastricht, Painting
1985: Diploma (cum laude)
1987 - 1997: full-time work at a bronze-foundry. Learning
the ins and outs of bronze-casting. Getting familiar with
numerous sculptors and their work. At last I start making
sculptures of my own.
1996: Move to Amsterdam.
1998: Stop painting and concentrate on creating and exhibiting
sculptures.
2000-2002: parttime teacher at HKU-art school Utrecht.
2008: move to De Woude, countryside. Start sculpting in wood.
2017: experiments with sculptures in ceramics and sculptures in
glass

since 1985 more than 200 exhibitions in different countries:

Maastricht, Los Angeles, Borken (Germany), Amsterdam, Gent (Belgium), Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Akersloot, Tilburg, Wassenaar, Zoelen, Amstelveen, St. Paul (France), Knokke (Belgium), Mougins (France), Callantsoog, Baarle Nassau, Bydgoszcz (Poland), Laren, Wortegem (Belgium), Mons (Belgium), Bloemendaal, Den Bosch, Florence (Italy), Karlsruhe (Germany), Berlin (Germany), Eindhoven, Zwolle, Ameland, Brussels (Belgium), Merendree (Belgium), Bergen, Köln (Germany), Liège (Belgium), Lille (France), Strasbourg (France), Wageningen.