Pilgrim

About

For the very first time, Folkert de Jong will be presenting his worksin Leipzig. From the 22nd April 2017, Galerie Dukan will be showing his life size sculptures and artworks, that relate to the concept of the pilgrim and the differing meanings surrounding the pilgrim’s journey. Central to this is a metaphorical search, of great moral significance, in the art making process - the journey of an idea asit becomes an artwork. The soul inhabiting the body and using it as a means of transport in the journey of life.

Folkert de Jong was born in 1972 in Egmond aan Zee in the Netherlands, he lives and works in Amsterdam. He studied at the Academie of Fine Arts and at the Rijksacademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. Before he made life sizesculptures, for which he became famous, he designed performances.

These often took place in nature without any observers. Sometimes they were recorded. Since 2001, de Jong has focused only on his sculptural practice. Made of polyurethane and styrofoam, materials associated with transportation or insulation, a performative element  isintroduced to the works construction: the industrial foam solidifies in a few seconds, meaning Folkert de Jong hasto work in a great hurry. Despite all preparation, coincidence determines what the work will look like in the end.

De Jong’s sculpturesshow scenes influenced by the aesthetics of horror, war, conflict    and politics. Nevertheless every figure is equally grotesque, there is no “good” or “bad”. The oeuvre of Folkert de Jong developsincessantly, in which he sets down a history in a fictive temporality halfway between reminiscence and anticipation. De Jong has exhibited in renowned museums around the world: in the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, the Arario Seoul in South Korea, the Middelheimmuseum in Antwerp, Belgium, in the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, USA and in the Musée d’Evreux in France. His artworks inhabit the collections of many museums.