Gjalt Blaauw’s work is characterized by distinct forms and a poetic playfulness. His material of choice is steel, painted in cheerful colors or red-brown rusted, and stone. Despite the weight and solidity of the material, the sculptures exude a lightness in their essence. They often seem to flutter like a flag or flicker like a flame. Other works resemble a cloud or plume of smoke. With Narcissus, Blaauw even managed to suggest a rippling water surface with steel. Many of his works consist of two or more separate elements, arranged in a seemingly precarious composition. They give the impression of being constructed with an oversize set of building blocks rather than being the result of an artistic concept. Yet, it is precisely this direct and unpretentious nature that gives these sculptures their attraction.
GJALT BLAAUW (1945) was educated at the art academies of Leeuwarden, Arnhem, and Groningen. After graduating in 1969, he participated in over one hundred exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including ‘Op losse schroeven’ at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (1969), ‘Lyrisch schetsboek voor de stad’ at the CBK Groningen (1994), and ‘Beelden op de Scheldeboulevard’ in Terneuzen (2012). He had solo presentations at the Fries Museum (1992) and around Borg Rusthoven in Wirdum (2005). For public spaces, Blaauw created the untitled sculptures for the Winschoterbrug in Winschoten (1989), the nature and recreation area Kardinge in Groningen (1999), and Park Sijtwende in Leidschendam-Voorburg (2010).
Gjalt Blaauw currently resides and works in Groningen.
www.ftn-books.com has several Gjalt Blaauw publications now available.
