Opening: herman de vries | all this

herman de vries
all this
Opening: Tue 18.03.2025, 19h
19.03. – 10.08.2025 | MQ Freiraum

The artist herman de vries (*1931, Alkmaar/NL) invites us to perceive nature not as a resource, but as a living, self-determined actor - as a work of art in itself. Influenced by his early work in biological research, de vries transfers scientific methods into his artistic work in order to make the “reality” of nature visible.
Since the 1970s, herman de vries has been a collector and mediator of the “works” of nature. His artistic work includes installations with stones, flowers, wood and other materials that he finds in nature. He develops his famous earth rubs, arranges leaves from various plants and turns his wanderings into a performative act of perception. System and chance go hand in hand. Philosophical considerations play a central role in his artistic exploration of the world, and poetry also becomes an important means of expression. de vries' artistic practice unites art, life and nature into a cosmos beyond opposites.
The exhibition at MQ Freiraum presents the 93-year-old artist's fascinating oeuvre, which is both radical in its immediacy and modesty, with a large number of key installations, wall and text works from the last 50 years.

Curated by Dr. Cees de Boer (independent curator) and Verena Kaspar-Eisert (MQ chief curator).

Supported by Mondriaan Fund.

herman de vries, steigerwald kosmologie, 2008/2010
Foto: studio herman de vries / Joana Schwender