I would like to write about the man who was the homage and inspiration for one of Babs's series. Since I am learning about Babs's inspirations for her artworks, it was a pleasure to find the origins of the series Delfts Labyrint'. While scanning Babs's catalogues, I came across some interesting things about the artist Jan Schoonhoven and the connection with Babs's series. She was very forthcoming when I asked if she could give me any further information about this artist. And while she was searching the book, she was pleased to read the text again because the things she read were calling to her soul.
Jan Schoonhoven was a Dutch artist born in 1914 in Delft, who left a permanent mark on the world of minimalist art with his simplicity and precision. In the beginning, though, he could have been better received in some countries apart from the Netherlands and Germany.
Jan Schoonhoven began his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague from 1930 to 1934. He was initially drawn to German expressionism, and his early work, such as "L'homme qui danse," reflected influences from artists like Emil Nolde and Max Pechstein. Later, he shifted his focus towards the abstract poetic stylings of Paul Klee, creating works like "Fantômes de la ville," which showcased his preference for ink and watercolor and emphasized abstract arrangements of forms.
After the war, he started working at the PTT (Post Telephone Telegraph) in The Hague so he could do his art without financial problems, and ten years later, he finally got his creative breakthrough. Using papier-mâché, Jan Schoonhoven developed a unique technique involving the layering of paper to create textured, grid-like reliefs. Uniformity and the play of light and shadow are what characterized these works, indicative examples being "R 62-13" in 1962 and "Relief carré rythmique" in 1968.
Jan Schoonhoven was the co-founder of the experimental Dutch Nul Group, which was closely associated with the German Zero Group. This collective of artists sought to strip art of personal expression in favour of pure, objective representation, with the presence of the artist as a person being obliterated. His reliefs embody this principle, presenting an almost impersonal yet profoundly rhythmic interaction of light and material.
His methodical approach to art, emphasizing repetition and order, distinguished him from his more expressive contemporaries. But, in an interview, Jan Schoonhoven confided that his handwork and personal touch were always evident, even as he aimed for maximum impersonality.
With his work, he wanted to demonstrate how the absence of colour, surface and composition can create a compelling visual and emotional experience. The interplay of light and shadow on his white reliefs brings a dynamic quality to his otherwise static creations, continuously altering the viewer's perception.
In 1993, Babs started adding structured surfaces onto her artworks that deviated from her familiar bumps, hollows and pleats. She wanted to pay a homage to Jan Schoonhoven and used the title 'Delfts Labyrint', after the artist's hometown of Delft. The first of these pieces, a true homage, is made with white porcelain, with one of the cells having copper red. The surface of the pot features a cellular structure of tiny hollow compartments, in various sizes, and creating a sense of movement within the cells. Some cells stretch out diagonally, while others resemble small basins. These cells give the artwork an almost grisly quality, since they closely resemble the inside structure of a bone. The pot appears white, much like Jan Schoonhoven's cardboard reliefs, but it actually has a soft green sheen and a partially sugary texture due to the use of grogged porcelain (pre-fired porcelain that has been ground down to varying degrees). Finally, the thick glaze that settles in the corners of the cells forms azure blue puddles as a result of the glazing and reduction firing.
Babs's following pieces had an increasing amount of black porcelain. Firstly, with 'Delfts Labyrint II', featuring black as a line drawing that seeps through the white, as well as thinner ribbing than her very first piece. With 'Delfts Labyrint III and IV,' Babs takes the contrast to another level, with whole blocks of black piercing the cells and leaving some with the original white. In these works, the cellular structure combines with an undulating wall, resembling textile fabric. Especially in 'Delfts Labyrint IV,' where the irregular cell pattern and the large field of black on the base resemble a heavy black wool cloth.
Following the 'Delfts Labyrint' pieces, these contrasts between angular, hollow relief structures and pleated, waving walls became a recurring theme in Babs's later work. Her artworks evolved and moved on to the phase of the 'centerpieces' that I mentioned on a previous blog.
With this series Babs paid homage to a great artist and the structure of 'Delfts Labyrint' became an integral part of her work.
See you next time! (づ ◕‿◕ )づ
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