15-03-2019 - At Lowlands, next weekend in Biddinghuizen, a 10-metre-high sculpture by sculptor Tom Claassen (1964) will be on display. He commissioned it from Museum de Fundatie and Lowlands. The sculpture is called Mikkel and will get a prominent place in the sculpture garden of Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino/Wijhe after Lowlands.
The sculpture depicts a knight figure and is composed of a stacking of parts reminiscent of pebbles or stones. It looks as if Tom Claassen has casually placed the round-shaped parts of the body on top of each other, like tourists make stone men in the mountains to defy gravity. In reality, the colossal parts, sculpted from Styrofoam and sprayed over with plastic and silver-grey paint, are braced with a steel frame.
Tom Claassen studied at the Sint-Joost Academy of Art and Design in Breda from 1984 to 1989. His sculptures often have something ambiguous: they are monumental but do not inspire awe but endearment. For large sculptures, he does not use durable and distinguished bronze, but perishable plaster, pliable textile, polystyrene foam or industrial aluminium.
Museum de Fundatie and Lowlands have previously made joint art purchases. In 2008, Heringa/Van Kalsbeek produced Prolong, Ronald Westerhuis made Rawsome in 2011, the following year David Bade produced Ins Blaue and in 2013, Lowland audiences entered the festival grounds via a huge triumphal arch by Yasser Ballemans. The monumental sculptures, including the new Mikkel,are part of the Overijssel province's art collection. After standing on the Lowlands festival grounds for three consecutive years, they will be given a permanent place in the sculpture garden of Kasteel het Nijenhuis.