Crosswork IV
Fall & winter 2021-2022
50 bottoms and 50 lids of shipping boxes, casein and pigments
Executed in May 2022; Monastery Hoogcruts
This work is part of The Crossworks, an ongoing series of projects that have emerged from each other since 2021. The works have no definitive state nor form; they are always in transition. The interrelationship of color, matter, light and space is explored in this series. They are based on the fresco cycle “The History of the True Cross” by Piero della Francesca (± 1460; Arezzo, Italy).
By Artware.pbk I was invited to be a guest at the monastery complex HX Hoogcruts for one day from sunrise to sunset. An event in which a limited number of invited guests were given the opportunity to encounter the building, an artist, an object, an action, an event, a sound, the time of day and other visitors, based on the course of the canonical hours.
For this event, I provided 100 cardboard open boxes with colors from Crosswork’s workbook. All colors were self rubbed from pigments with casein. This matte paint allows the light to have an intense effect on the colors. Irregularities in the paint and in the stroke were accepted, showing the traces of the hand. Four Planes were determined by the workbook, the fifth plane being a personal choice. This gave me the opportunity to activate, harmonize or contrast the colors. The four raised sides provide an architectural addition, allowing light and shadow to play an even greater role. It also creates an ever-changing field of view for the viewer moving around it, where colors constantly enter into new relationships, both among themselves and with the surrounding space.
During my stay in Hoogcruts, I showed the work Crosswork IV not as a static object, but as a dynamic work process. This meant that during the day — depending on the changing incidence of light in the building — the work constantly moved and spread itself through all the spaces to catch the incoming light wherever possible. Thus a play of light, color and space was created. By moving with me, time and the work, the visitor became part of this creative process.