We are in the land of the giants today. Today’s plan includes seeing a bit more of the Redwoods and driving through a tree! I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw a photo of the Chandelier Tree many moons ago. These enormous trees, the huge haystack rocks in Oregon and just the wildness of the Pacific remind us of how very small we are in this large universe. In his bas relief sculptures, Dutch artist Ron van der Ende uses found wood to sculpt and “paint” his own colossal objects.
Bas-relief sculpture is all about angles and perception. When viewed from one angle, the sculpture may not make sense, but when taken in from the front, it seems to float in true 3-dimensional form. As van der Ende is creating his pieces, he uses pieces of painted found wood to create the colors you see– these aren’t sculptures constructed, then painted. The artist is painting with the found wood. Using the existing finishes of the wood in such a way creates a wonderful sense of texture, which only serves to amplify the depth created by the bas-relief technique.
I hope those last two images give you a sense of the enormity of scale van der Ende employs, making these sculptures as imposing as they are impressive, just like our friends the Redwoods.
If you’d like to see more work by Ron van der Ende, please visit his website.
All images via the artist’s website.
