Sculpture 'Construction' by Naum Gabo - Rotterdam, NL - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

This huge sculpture is in the city center of Rotterdam. Made mainly from steel it stands in front of the famous Bijenkorf building. It reminded me of some mathematical forms which I had seen when I was in highschool.

"The artwork
The spatial construction that has flanked the new building of the De Bijenkorf department store on the Coolsingel since 1957 is, according to its creator Naum Gabo, an ‘ideological contribution to constructivism’. This is mainly due to the merging of an architectural and sculptural approach; the transparency of the space that is ‘described’, as it were, and the impression of weightlessness that the sculpture offers. This is special for a sculpture of this size and weight: it weighs approximately 40,000 kilos.

The work dates from a period in which Gabo’s early, strictly geometric-abstract constructions had already made way for freer constructions in more organic forms. In an explanation of the sculpture to the art historian Herbert Read, Gabo once stated that organic structures in the plant world provided him with inspiration for the structure of this sculpture. The gradual change of direction that has been applied in the elements suggests movement.

Gabo saw the foundation of the statue as its roots, which ensure that it is firmly anchored above ground. The two blocks of concrete, covered with black marble, form the equivalent of a trunk. Eight metal branches grow out of this, which touch each other at the top. The darker, finer core represents the canopy. The statue, entirely in accordance with the basic principles of constructivism, takes up a maximum of space with a minimum of mass.

Year : 1957
Location : Beursplein 33
Dimensions : 4.50 x 5.40 x 26 m
Material : steel profile, tube and wire mesh
Client : De Bijenkorf
Owner : IEF Capital
Nicknames : Stylized flower, the thing, train crash
"

(visit link)

TITLE: None ARTIST(S): Naum Gabo DATE: may 1957 MEDIUM: Pre-stressed concrete, steel ribs, stainless steel, bronze wire, and marble. CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 88200234 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Beursplein 33, Rotterdam DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: looks all good.

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Date Logged Log   01/06/2025 MaaBo visited it