ISABELLE SMEETS

ISABELLE SMEETS. ARTIST.

COPY ART.

2-DIMENTIONAL SCULPTURES.

CONCRETE COPY SCULPTURES.

PROJECTS.

COMMISSIONS.

BIOGRAPHY AND NEWS.

Copy Art  2-Dimensional  Sculptures Concrete Copy Sculpture

Duplicatation, construction and the use of light are common characteristics of my works of art.

Much of my work consists of large monumental images made from a series of black / white photocopies directly glued on to the wall. While I use recognisable, repeated photos, like flying birds, a muscular male body or running feet, as basic material for these artworks, I am ultimately looking for abstraction in the artwork an abstraction of strength, growth, motion, nature, attraction, light, reflection, transitoriness or death.

Although I work with 2-dimensional images, the character of the artwork has much affinity with a sculpture, especially in my process, which is slow and labour-intensive. Some of my works I would call explicitly 2-dimentional sculptures.

Because I construct my work with black / white photocopies, pencil, transparent paint and sometimes gold leaf directly glued to the wall, these works only exist as long as the exhibition exists. However, if these works are placed in a buyer's home they have the same permanence as any other large sculpture that is not easy to relocate. Unlike a large sculpture, the actual weight of one of my sculptures (dim. 4.10 m.- 4.00 m.) is less then half a kilo in material.

Also, my work is site-specific: the size of a work can vary per location. Because it is glued directly on to the wall, it works in relation to the size of a particular space. Some of these works need the full height of the space to create the right tension in the work.

Another part of my work consists of repeated white and grey stacked concrete forms and glasses filled with water. After making the first series of these sculptures, I realized that my approach to these was the same as to my photocopy works: I use a mould to reproduce multiple concrete forms, which are the basic material for these sculptures.

Light also plays a role in my work through the use of reflective and non-reflective materials like transparent glossy paint, gold leaf or dull black paint. The plays of light cause the image to change depending on the viewpoint. In one position, you can see a big gloomy ball. Moving a little bit further the ball recedes almost to the background of the image. Likewise, with the concrete sculptures light creates a second image, namely the changing shadow image that works together with the concrete form.

My latest work LO QUE ES REAL or -that what really is- is an installation of 17 large black and white prints of old people ( 0.77- 2.64 m. and 0.77-1.80 m.)
together with a fragmented mirroring circle ( diameter 2 m. divided in 127 parts )
and around this circle a glossy transparent painted circle ( diameter 4 m.).
The middle of the fragmented mirroring circle is transparent with bits of gold leaf in it. It represents me.
The next ring divided in two parts represent my parents, the second ring divided in 4 parts represent my grandparents, etc., etc. After 7 generations there are 128 ever existing people represented in every gene of your body.
After 14 generations there are 16.384 people genetically connected with you. In an adjoining space you can see a video with the image of a large black and white window and the sounds from the street outside of this window going on in real time mixing with the stillness of the big portraits of the old people hanging in the next room.

My work is like nature, my nature. It grows, changes, is vulnerable, transitory and reproducible.

Isabelle Smeets, Broekhuizen, Nederland.