relation to duality essential

Vernooij’s sculptures require an active attitude from the spectator, to ask questions about the work, to go along with the motion or the impending event that is suggested. And to finish the sculpture in his or her head.

Due to the degree of abstraction, the artworks are certainly not easy to comprehend. It helps to know that Vernooij’s sculptures are about ‘relating to duality’. This starts with the ambiguous sources of his artworks. The Romantic perception of everyday life, which instigates the longing to create art in Vernooij. And the Buddhist translation thereof, which is about the art of omission and the desire to catch the ever-changing. In his sculptures, the results of the process of making, there are many aspects that indicate duality – two things that come together – or ambiguity – two opposite matters -. To discover what this ‘doubleness’ is in the individual works of art, is the guide for exploring the sculptures of Coen Vernooij.

Written by Judith van Beukering