Bart Soutendijk

Bart designs and builds both large and small custom wirewall art using 9 or 12 gauge annealed steel wire. He welds his wall sculptures for strength and stability and has them powder coated with a UV protective covering for endurance. Bart, originally from the Netherlands, graduated from Boston University and attended classes at the NYU, New School for Social Research. Bart’s mediums as an artist have included photography, silk-screen, lithography, acrylics, oils, clay and stained glass. After seeing an exhibit of Alexander Calder’s wire art at the Whitney Museum in NYC., wire became his new medium of choice

Bart’s art style is figurative. He says this style helps him to express what’s most important in life, the simplest things, things we cherish. Like holding someone’s hand, taking a bath, watching people at work or kids at play, the beauty of the human figure or the things we enjoyed in our youth now can become our joy.

Wire sculptures pictured here are powder coated gloss black. They are also available in color, slightly larger or smaller, with minor changes, using the same drawing as a guide. Inquire for details.

When I first began to work in wire, it seemed like a really great way to make larger drawings on the wall without stretching yards of canvas or framing big plywood panels. Then came the shadows and the way the steel bent – soft not hard- and how the images took on a personality that only this medium made possible. The softness of the steel and how it agrees to bend helps me to strip away lines that aren’t required to convey the image. Wire adds a new dimension to my art. I like my wire wall sculptures most when the line is gentle, abbreviated and flowing – conveying emotion and only the essence of the image.

The final installation of a wirewall sculpture is a solid line in space in front of a moving shadow, with scale enough to suit a large wall without dominating the room.