work – Jan Wils

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I have been working as a sculptor since 1978. For over 20 years, I made architectonical sculptures for local councils and companies. In 2002 I followed a new course and found my own style as a painter. For many years I painted intensively, almost exclusively portraits.

I have now returned to my old craft – sculpture – but with a different approach and different objects than before: no longer static and subdued, but dynamic and colourful. I draw my inspiration from whatever the day brings me, and as a result every object or painting is interwoven with a moment, a story.

‘CAN CAN’

As a teenager, I was greatly attracted to and excited by movies depicting can-can dancers, the Moulin Rouge or synchronised swimmers. All those sexy legs moving back and forth; fabulous. The idea for ‘Can Can’ is based on those images from the past, translated to the present. ‘Can Can’ consists of a series of objects on the edge of a boulevard or avenue, carrying the street lighting. This is quite a challenge in...

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‘From flat to spatial’

‘From flat to spatial’ My starting point in this series of sculptures is flat sheet material. I find this way of processing and connecting flat sheet material particularly challenging and interesting. To keep things simple, I often use old, mechanical connections. This results in contemporary sculptures, both in terms of the material I use (brass) and the look and feel of the sculptures, which...

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‘figurative red object’

Hengelo residents: Hengelo is a wonderful city in which to live, work and live. And Hengelo people are hard workers. Always has been. And now they are working together on something very beautiful: a renewed city center that looks to the future with confidence. A cozy and compact city center that welcomes visitors with open arms. With this image, the artist really wants to contribute to what makes Hengelo so unique: lively,...

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‘Cars (sculpture De Burgh)’

As a small child I was already fascinated by, among other things, the children's program De Verrekijker, which often showed films that gave a behind-the-scenes look at how an article was created in mass production. The combination of man and machine has greatly changed... ›

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‘the Bull’

The Bull is a design by Jan Wils mend to be placed in the public space or nearby a compagnie in Hapert, the... ›

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‘Clay sets me free’

After years of sculpting again. Gives me the freedom to let go of my fantasy. Tastes for more. Taurus, klei 37x41cm Virgo, klei 40x38cm Juggler, klei 23x39cm Baadster klei 68x23cm Fun klei... ›

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‘Source’

The uterus is like a mini-ocean in a woman’s body. The sea as the source of all life on earth. In this sculpture, Source, I have brought together seawater, vagina and...

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‘Danse macabre’

There has seldom been a painting that surprised me more than Matisse’s Dance. Until I saw this work for the first time I was convinced its dimensions were approximately 125 x 170 cm. In reality it turned out to be almost four meters wide. There is so much beauty and movement in this work; Matisse truly is a great artist. For my interpretation I have chosen to create an erotic diptych, which can be hung in a corner for extra...

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‘Adam and Eve’

Around 2007 I made a contemporary, personal version based on old, famous masterpieces. I was so moved by Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach’s highly accomplished interpretation of Adam and Eve I simply had to create my answer to it. ...

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‘Professions’

Archetypical opinions about professions are as old as humankind, for certain professions more so than for others. I was fascinated by why this happens, the labels and the clichés. This led me to create of a series of portraits in (periode). De Zangeres (The... ›

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‘Zwijgzaam (Taciturn)’

I was driving along the Canal on my way to my workshop. Near the bridge sat an elderly man, staring at the water and smoking a full-strength roll-up. I parked my car so I could observe him closely, absorbing his features. It was one of those moments where you know:... ›

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‘Cathedral of laundry’

Made of transparent, soft-blue PVC, the ‘Kathedraal van het wasgoed’ (‘Cathedral of Laundry’) is an object primarily meant to be touched. It hangs in a crosswise pattern within reach and consists of the dangling outlines of legs, like laundry on a clothes line.... ›

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‘Oh my god’

After my son Jelmer died I started painting like crazy. I had to vent my sorrow and making sculptures didn’t provide the release I needed at the time. I quickly mastered painting with a spatula. In my case it turned out rough and pasty. This painting is heavy. I made it during those black days. It contains a cut out picture of an eye - the well-known EYE of God like the framed copy on my grandmother’s kitchen wall. In...

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‘23.00 UUR (uit bed) / 11 PM (not in bed)’

Every parent recognises the moment his child suddenly appears in the doorway, drowsy, blinking against the bright lights. This is children at their best. Warm, half asleep, smelling sweetly; having just emerged from their dreams they are looking for shelter in a warm lap. When this happened to me years ago, I made this painting first thing the next morning, brimming with happiness. The Kempenland Museum later acquired the...

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‘Urbanisation’

Each assignment I see as a challenge to find the best possible interpretation, without prejudice. An interpretation that triggers people to think. This is why I don’t select my material or format beforehand, to avoid simply ‘performing’ the expected. No-one would benefit from that – not the client commissioning the work who would not get the best result, but neither would I, running the risk of becoming a one-trick...

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‘One Step’

The first landing on the moon made a great impression on me as a child. I later learned that America was the first country to achieve this since, years prior, President Kennedy had called upon various scientific disciplines to share their knowledge. The Eindhoven High... ›

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‘Happy’

I am in Hong Kong, standing between towering glass facades. There are sounds all around me; neon lights are blinking, air-conditioners humming, cars sounding their horns and people talking. Hong Kong is one big, dynamic organism; always alive. The reflections in the... ›

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‘Zaterdagavond (saturday night)’

t’s Saturday night and my sister Marida is putting on her make up at home in the kitchen. As a 10 year old boy I cherish this moment: listening to the transistor radio, a Mantano in the ashtray, make up items spread out on the table. All this holds a promise to me: a... ›

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‘The Walker’

It’s the summer of 1993. I am lying on a beach in France, reading. A hairpin catches my eye, a trinket, lost in the masses of sand. Something tells me this hairpin is here for a reason. I put my book away and start playing with the curved wire, forgetting the world around me. I soon detect the image of walking legs, enclosed in the hairpin. Back at the campsite I get to work with paper and scissors, and once I get back home...

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‘Balans (balance)’

The Commanderij College in Gemert asked me to design something for their new building. I wanted to visualise the students’ world, secondary school students finding their way in this uncertain time in their lives. One part of the building resembles a circus tent while the other part is more traditional. Where the two wings meet I designed ‘Balans’ (‘Balance’): two large tightrope walker’s legs in yellow ochre,...

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‘Stapelingen (stackings)’

High, vertical pillars are found in all cultures. They can be found in the form of a sacred tree or as a pillar or column in an expression of power. We like to look up to things, which is something we have been doing since many centuries. Just think of the architecture in Ancient Egypt, Greece and the Roman Empire, or the first inhabitants of colonies who built pillars in front of their houses: plenty of examples can be found...

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Herman Kruijderstraat 4
5645 KD Eindhoven
06 – 81 15 00 49
jhlwils@gmail.com

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