Category: Street art

Flower power Impressive about the Untitled creation by Naum Gabo is that it weighs 40.000 kilograms while 26 meters high. It is also known as the Het Ding (The Thing) or the De Gestileerde Bloem (The Styled Flower) in Rotterdam. The sculpture is an ideological contribution towards constructivism while architectural and sculptural approaches merge. With…

Lift me up The artwork Elevazione in Rotterdam is by Giuseppe Penone. Hence the title Elevazione which is Italian for elevation. The elevated tree is based on the Arte Povera style. This is a contemporary art movement and means Poor Art. This fallen tree is covered with bronze by the artist Giuseppe Penone. Altogether four alder-trees…

Sausages As part of the street’s interior the QWERTZ creation by Franz West is in Rotterdam since 2001. QWERTZ are the first 6 letter keys on German keyboards. Once the orange, pink, white, yellow and blue artwork matched the colors of the building on the background. That explains the location as Franz West wanted. The…

Ho ho ho As of 2001 the Santa Claus sculpture by Paul McCarthy belongs to Rotterdam. Of course good old Father Christmas comes with a tree and bell. Although many doubt that it’s an actual Christmas tree and call it something else. Therefore in Rotterdam many call this Santa mostly Kabouter Buttplug (Buttplug Gnome). For…

Concrete and stones After Pablo Picasso met Sylvette David in 1954 he made many artworks of her. In total he made over 60 portrais, drawings, paintings and small sculptures of her. Since 1971 a replica by Carl Nesjar of Sylvette stands in Rotterdam. Inside the sculpture is a metal frame that is covered with concrete…

Fee-fi-fo-fum From 1990 hangs a billboard in Rotterdam saying that Melly Shum Hates Her Job. This attention-drawing billboard is a non-commercial one by the artist Ken Lum. It is supposed to raise many questions that perhaps clearify the text and picture. All by the Melly Shum Hates Her Job sign in Rotterdam. A closer look…

Under construction The Anita sculpture by David Bade is in Rotterdam since 2001. While for many she is a confusing piece of street art the artist’s explanation is clear. The artwork starts from the pallet with on top a debris bag. Than comes Anita out of that bag. Similar to debris bags in use on…

Don’t neglect me The De Hals sculpture (2000) in Rotterdam is by John Blake. The white polyester artwork stands on a concrete platform and is 2.30 meters high. It is an enlargement of a display that jewelers use in shop windows. Which explains the title as the neck. Actually the platform is part of a…

Guard it It’s not a Transformer, also not a Terminator but a bit of both. It’s Guard in Rotterdam by the artist Hans van Bentem. Already since the year 2005 looking over the skatepark’s visitors. It’s based on the popular Gundam anime series. With a length of 3.5 meters the ceramic Guards on a granite…

Should I stay or should I go? The AUB sculpture by Henk Visch in Rotterdam is neighbors with the Kunsthal. Actually it is bought and placed illegally there in 1996 by the former Kunsthal director. Due to local laws not allowing any artworks in the Museumpark. However still in the beautiful park. The title AUB…