Joep Struyk
As a mason in the third generation, I feel at home in the world of stone and dust. For years I enjoyed working as a steward and restorer until I felt something was missing. I studied sculpting at the Academy of the Fine Arts in Antwerp (Belgium) and have worked as a freelance sculptor since 2001. I seek a balance between stone carving and free sculpting in my work, and you can feel the tension between the worlds of art and craftmanship in my creations.
During recent years I became more and more involved in my autonomous work: a connection of the cyclic processes we perceive in nature and the human struggle for existence. Themes like vitality, reproduction, transience and the fight for survival are represented in the sculpting series of “Lacrima, Semenzale en Stagioni”.
I enjoy searching with others for a way to transform a thought into an image. The path one takes to get to a result is what interests me most. Within this process, decisions have to be taken and reconsidered and the artist has to maximize his use to knowledge, form and intuitive qualities.
