Atelier Van Lieshout Bronze

Atelier Van Lieshout (or AVL) creates pieces that are manifestly functional, for Carpenters Workshop Gallery: organically-shaped lamps that are both sensual and realistic, like The Caretaker and Kiss Lamp, or full of irony like Swing and Pappamamma Lamp Bronze. They also create tables as pretexts for the depiction of figurative scenes as illustrated by Gastronomy and Technocrat Bronze Coffee Table. The choice of bronze as a medium for this collection is not random: this alloy, often associated with antiquity, unconsciously sends us to the Bronze Age, referring to the tribal past of our modern society and telling the story of humanity. In practice, the work of Joep Van Lieshout, the studio group’s founder and leader, perfectly corresponds to the gallery’s approach to art and design: an evolution toward functional sculpture.

The collective’s work is a result of re-contextualization of familiar, domestic objects, which become original works of art without losing their practical purpose. Being focused on challenging conventional ideas of utility and functionality, AVL reinvents the viewer’s perceptions or approaches to an object and its environment. AVL expresses its reflection on humans and their future, individuals’ interdependence with environment and its art. The themes of social ties, family, education, organization of labour, along with the impact of the industrial revolution on our lives, are widely present in AVL’s artworks. Implementation of non-traditional materials help to present such profound and controversial themes as life and death, autarky, politics and power in a lighter, humorous side.