Ellen Klijzing

Mondrian at War

In the visual arts, the material used is always more than an effective construction. The images of Ellen Klijzing show that she uses the material in a delusional way. It expresses something different than what it actually is. As a sculpture, the material acquires properties that it does not have as such.

In 'Mondrian at war' she creates a visual naval battle using a formal language that we know from the figurehead of Dutch abstraction, Mondrian. It gives the impression of an upside-down ship, a capsized vessel with the hull in the air and the sails in the water. It is not a traditional seascape, but a futuristic-looking scene of a (space) war.

The Dutch landscape of horizontals and verticals has been pulled apart and reconnected. We see beds that cannot be slept on and iron pillows; a metaphor for a disoriented world. We have ended up in a nightmare. The different parts are connected in the way that Gerrit Rietveld used in his furniture, which looks fragile yet is sturdy.

Mondrian at War

Factsheet

Dimensions
350cm, 420cm, 300cm (Height, Width, Depth)
Weight
169kg
Material
Metal, Wood, Mixed Media
All artworks from Ellen Klijzing
Scroll to top of the page