Armando – Gestalten is the first exhibition dedicated to the life-size, bronze sculptures of Armando (1929-2018), one of Holland’s most well-known and versatile post-war artists.
Elusive figures
Most of the sculptures in the exhibition were made in the past 25 years. The earliest bronze sculptures out of Armando's oeuvre are mostly iconic objects; a flag (Fahne) or fragment (Bruchstück). Later, the sculptures start to take on the shape of human figures. Recognisable because they roughly follow the shape of a body, but are at the same time anonymous and never quite finished. Armando called them Gestalten. Figures or shapes. They are elusive figures, human and inhuman at once, which took their form in clay and were later cast in bronze.
Armando, Gestalten, 2005, bronze, Armando Foundation Collection
Tragedy of man
In the exhibition, the sculptures are accompanied by paintings by Armando, in which the same subjects or motifs recur. Sometimes literally, more often on an associative level. But the theme which resonates in all the works, and which permeates Armando's entire oeuvre, is the tragedy of human existence. His work is about man, mortal man, who makes his way through life, navigating between good and evil, guilt and innocence, perpetrator and victim.
The war
Armando became familiar with the tragedy of man during World War II. He grew up near concentration camp Amersfoort and saw the evil of which man is capable. The war always continued to work its way through his oeuvre. His work expresses a great sense of transience and a deep awareness of the contradictions of existence.
Armando, Gestalten, 2010, oil on canvas, Armando Foundation Collection
