Bike:Sculpture exhibit

8/25/2009

Announcing a new exhibit by The Art Institute of Dallas faculty member Robertus van der Wege, "Bike:Sculpture."

The show, which runs from August 24 through October 2, is located in the Pegasus Gallery (8080 Park Lane, Suite 100) and is  open to the public at no charge. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Tuesday, August 25 from 5-7pm.

About the show: 

Using bicycles as a sculptural form, both as conceptual and as figurative objects, Robertus van der Wege sees himself as a sculptor who is also a toymaker and an environmentalist. 

His fascination with bicycles has grown out of his travels in Europe, Africa, and numerous areas of the U.S. and reflects his interest in universality—that which concerns us all as members of the human race—particularly as we rediscover old yet sustainable technologies.  

While different societies view bicycles in diverse ways, the knowledge of the bicycle mechanic is universal, says van der Wege. “The skill to repair a bike is the same in Boston, Bangkok, Beirut, or Beijing. Other aspects are quite different. In Africa, I could not find scrap bicycles to use in my sculpture. Every bicycle and bike part is used and reused over and over again. In the Netherlands, bikes are a way of life, and personal ownership of them is secondary to greater public good.”

In one review of van der Wege’s work, Chicago gallery manager David A. Parker comments that “the bicycle is an emblem for our troubled times, in which so much is off-kilter.  It demands its rider to be fully aware of and responsible for his/her movement in the world and impact there-upon.  Its simple structure, existing only to facilitate our travel, invites us to project ourselves onto it, and so the bicycle functions as a stand-in for the body.  And finally, it holds promise of fantastical escape (a notion articulated perhaps more loudly by its big brother, the motorcycle).”

Parker notes van der Wege’s concerns with the environment, progress, the balance between nature and technology, the juxtaposition of the man-made object and the animal kingdom, and possible disaster for humankind if we don’t create and maintain balance.  He describes one of the works as follows:

“In ‘Cycle of Life’ a unicycle with its seat replaced by a bonsai stands in perfect but precarious balance.  Anyone who has attempted to ride a unicycle knows that is a devilishly tricky device to master.  There can be no hands-free coasting as with a bicycle; a moment of inattention and all is lost.  Similarly, bonsai require daily care and watering, or they dry out in hours.  The natural world literally hangs in the balance of a system that we have created.  Lack of vigilance means disaster, and it can happen at any second.”

Viewers will take delight in seeing bicycle parts put together in unexpected and sometimes humorous and ironic ways. On a deeper level, Robertus Van der Wege asks us “to look beyond the functional and find a new dysfunctional aesthetic within these familiar objects.  If we can do this, perhaps we can look beyond our own emotional, mental or physical limitations and find an expanded understanding of what is universal.”