Milan van der Stouw - ArtEZ Alumni Index

For my graduation work, I selected a series of drawings, sculptures, and videos. The drawings depict a dream-like, almost-reality, frozen in moments of creation, transformation, and de-creation. They capture shapes and textures in an in-between state of form and formlessness, balancing openness and actualization. In contrast, the sculptures emphasize the tangible and material, asserting their own meanings and uses without being confined by our comprehension. Made from discarded materials found in trash, on the street, or at school, these objects have lost their previous significance. Through a playful process, I allow the materials to guide the forms, resulting in organic and chaotic sculptures that reflect my intimate relationship with them. This relationship also involves various techniques, from traditional woodworking to experimental DIY methods, as I place the sculptures in and beyond the exhibition space.

The videos document actions I took two years ago in Biella, Italy, where I imagined myself as an inhabitant of the riverbanks of the Cervo, using found sticks as tools in my daily routine. This routine involved maintaining my natural habitat through site-specific endeavors that may seem illogical to non-inhabitants. Although these works are older, they remain relevant to my practice, illustrating my working methods and allowing me to extend my art beyond the confines of my studio.

ARTIST BIO

My work is concerned with fluffy flying ferry wheels, broken branches decorated with ribbons and pearls, and slightly sexy cylindrical shapes. Sometimes I find these lying around in my mind, other times they appear on the street, in which case I might bring them to my studio to repair them to their inauthentic, incomplete glory. It is a movement of opening-up towards possible meanings. If definition were the thing that makes life worth-while, one could never use a table as a sled, or a book to throw at someone if necessary. One could never see a bunny in a cloud, nor a cloud in a bunny. Is that not boring? And still it seems that we value clarity over clouds, efficiency over intimacy, and understanding over wonder. Through the medium of life I try to give way to feelings of curiosity, playfulness, potentiality and wonder; for the viewer as well as for myself.