Jonas Wijtenburg. Becoming/Unbecoming/Rebecoming

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Cycles such as appreciation, oblivion and reappraisal, in the form of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction lie at the source of Wijtenburg’s artistic practice. To him, his sculptures are never finished, but are components of a constant process of becoming and deteriorating. The motif of the ruin appears regularly in his work. For instance, he makes use of all kinds of elements from previous works to create new sculptures. Simultaneously, Wijtenburg also recognizes parallels in this cycle with the realm of thought in which forgotten ideas manifest themselves in a new form after time. On the basis of that thought and with an abhorrence of waste, he is currently working on a modular installation that he gradually expands within the inner logic of his self-conceived system. According to Wijtenburg, this concerns a reciprocal process in which his spatial works are not merely the reflection of his ideas but, vice versa, generate in turn a kind of spatial concept that gives form and structure to his realm of thought.

— Sue-an van der Zijpp, Curator of Contemporary Art, Groninger Museum (NL)