Thursday April 7th in Zaal Staal from 17.00-19:00 in Rotterdam Jap Sam Books will present together with Sculpture International Rotterdam (SIR), Beeldende Kunst & Openbare Ruimte (BKOR) and CBK Rotterdam the publication GABO. Portrait of a Sculpture / Portret van een sculptuur. 

 

This is a very special publication about the nameless sculpture by Russian-American artist Naum Gabo (1890-1977) that resides in front of the department store de Bijenkorf at the Coolsingel in Rotterdam.

the nameless sculpture also sometimes referred to as 'Het Ding' ('The Thing') or 'de gestileerde bloem' ('the stylized flower') with a height of 26 meters and a weight of 40.000 kilograms was the icon of modernity at the Coolsingel at the time. In 2011 the 'de Bijenkorf' building and the artwork were declared as national monuments of the post-war reconstruction. The spatial construction made in 1957 is seen as one of the three figureheads of the international sculpture collection of Rotterdam: Sculpture International Rotterdam. The other two being the artworks by Zadkine and Henry Moore. The history of the nameless sculpture by Gabo is in many ways intertwined with the history of the city of Rotterdam.

The long-awaited restauration (2017-2018) of 'de Bijenkorf construction' at the Coolsingel in Rotterdam was the reason to realize this publication. Gabo. Portrait of a Sculpture / Portret van een sculptuur describes the turbulent life of this world famous artwork. The main text is written by art & culture historian Patricia van Ulzen. Her meticulous research adds a whole new chapter to the biography of Naum Gabo and the sculpture. By making art Gabo fought his whole life for the freedom of thought and imagination while living in many different places in the world. The ingenious sculpture he left Rotterdam defies time and is capable of gaining new meaning again and again. This way 'Het Ding' will dance along in the middle of the street, for everyone to behold.

Ove Lucas (director CBK Rotterdam) is the moderator of the book presentation. Ove Lucas will talk with Dees Linders (former artistic leader SIR) and Patricia van Ulzen (author) about the publication. Next there will be a lecture by Sjeng Scheijen (specialist Russian art of the early 20th century) followed by the presentation of the first copy and a festive toast on het Ding. 

Live music will be provided by the Gabosingers.

prior to the book presentation video recordings of leaf through sessions of the publication featuring some of the authors will be shown, by Arthur Bueno (documentary maker)