Margot Berkman | Portfolio Categories Sculptures
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March 19, 2021

Cobra Museum Wave of Breath 2020

Wave of Breath

11 March 2011 – Fukushima Japan

August 2020 – Whispering Seaweed Amstelveen

We owe our existence to the breathing waves; we have to take good care of what gave us life.

With the sculpture group Whispering Seaweed, Margot Berkman takes us below the surface, to a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar. Like the sea, her work shows one reflection after another: in sculptures, in drawings, in ink, paint, bronze and textiles.

This film marks the unveiling of the sculpture group Whispering Seaweed in public space and the opening of the exhibition Wave of Breath in the Cobra Museum, in which curator Katja Rodenburg presents a selection of the artist’s versatile work.

March 18, 2021

Film Whispering Seaweed 2020

Wave of Breath

11 March 2011 – Fukushima Japan

August 2020 – Whispering Seaweed Amstelveen

We owe our existence to the breathing waves; we have to take good care of what gave us life.

With the sculpture group Whispering Seaweed, Margot Berkman takes us below the surface, to a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar. Like the sea, her work shows one reflection after another: in sculptures, in drawings, in ink, paint, bronze and textiles.

This film marks the unveiling of the sculpture group Whispering Seaweed in public space and the opening of the exhibition Wave of Breath in the Cobra Museum, in which curator Katja Rodenburg presents a selection of the artist’s versatile work.

A soundscape is specially made by Will Calhoun (grammy award winning drummer Living Color, New York)

April 29, 2020

Whispering Seaweed Landart Amstelveen 2020

Landart  Whispering Seaweed

With exhibiton ‘Waves of Breath’ by curator Katja Rodenburg in the Cobra museum in Amstelveen and a soundscape specially created by Will Calhoun (grammy award winning drummer Living Color, New York)

 

February 14, 2019

Archimedes in Wonderland © Berkman en Janssens tunnel Utrecht 2001

Measurements: 1500 m2 of decorated tiles, 200 m2 of painting on the ceiling

 

A bicycle tunnel as a fairy tale.

 

While pedaling through the 60-meter-long tube, cyclists can feed their imagination with the decorated ceramic tiles and paintings from the artist duo Berkman and Janssens. The artwork is based on the inventions of the Greek mathematician Archimedes and the adventures of Alice in Wonderland.

 

The opening was done by mr. J. van Zanen, Alderman of Public Space, Municipality of Utrecht.

 

From the hands of the artists, Mr. J. van Zanen, the first copy of the screen print ‘Archimedes in Wonderland’ specially made for this exhibition. The queen, the cat, the man with the hat and the rabbit, they all lift the glass with us on 18 December 2001 in the City Hall in Utrecht.

 

 

 

February 8, 2019

Sisters in Paradise ©Berkman en Janssens fietstunnel Utrecht 2003

Measurements: 400 m2 decorated tiles, 200 m2 paint on pillars of the bridge

 

Inspiration from tile remains from the former Mariëndal monastery, or Maria ten Dael,

 

Commissioned by the city of Utrecht, the Utrecht artist duo Berkman and Janssens designed a beautiful artwork with the title  ‘Sisters in Paradise’. It is located on both banks of the river Vecht under the bridge over the Marnixlaan. The pillars of the bridge and the ceiling are renovated and painted. Cyclists and hikers now pass a cheerful scene with animals, surrounded by tiles with medieval motifs.

 

The images  are inspired by the surrounding neighbourhood and its history. The animals were once or can still be found on the banks of the river. The floral motifs on the tiles come from images found on tile remnants from the former monastery Mariëndal, or Maria ten Dael, which stood in the vicinity of the Marnix Bridge.

 

Berkman and Janssens designed this artwork. They are specialized in art in public space. The tiles are made of durable material, easy to maintain and have a nice appearance.

February 8, 2019

Les Dames et la Licorne © Berkman en Janssens Amsterdam 2004

A fairytale-like entrance to the Bos en Lommer shopping center

 

The artist duo Berkman and Janssens created an unique floor artwork (16 mx 40 m) in combination with a stainless steel fence (5 m x 10 m). This forms the surprising entrance of the Bos en Lommer shopping center.

 

In the entrance of the shopping center at the Bos en Lommerplein, sparrows in the fence welcome visitors and point the way to the richly decorated tiles that decorate the ground floor. The fence with sparrows and the floor with fairytale animals together form “Les Dames et la Licorne”.

 

Berkman and Janssens have once again proved with “Les Dames et la Licorne” to be able to give an original interpretation to the concept “art in public space“.

 

For the first time in the Netherlands a work of art of this type and sizehas been placed. Public places have high demands on tile floors. Berkman and Janssens,  have succeeded in developing a special tile line that meets extremely high aesthetic and sustainability requirements, and also allows for large-scale representations (eg of animal figures) with fairy-like appearance.

 

There was also a close collaboration with a supplier for  the stainless steel fence. The fence was also the inspiration for the new logo of the Bos en Lommer shopping center.

 

 

People cherish the artwork and this public area.

 

 

 

February 7, 2019

Sitting in Blue ©Berkman en Janssens tunnel Rietveldhuis Utrecht 2000

The treasures in the chairs of Rietveld …

 

In 1999, the municipality of Utrecht commissioned Berkman and Janssens, with the permission of the heirs of Gerrit Rietveld and in cooperation with the Ida van Zijl, the Rietveld curator of the Centraal Museum for their design of the tunnel as an external interior.

 

In the archives of the Centraal Museum they researched the original Rietveld chair designs. The result was a series of sketches and paintings. The research into compositions / surface divisions of the Rietveld Schröder House yielded a wall-filling composition in the real colors used by Rietveld: light gray, dark gray, red, white and blue.

 

In 2000 the Rietveld Schröder House was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The house is currently under management at the Centraal Museum. This museum provides guided tours of the building and also has an extensive collection of furniture designed by Rietveld, some of which (including the famous red-blue chair) can also be seen in the Rietveld Schröder House.

 

 

February 6, 2019

De Dames en het kleine Hondje ©Berkman en Janssens 2004

Ten thousand hand-decorated ceramic tiles specially made for the Betuweroute

 

The artwork designed by Berkman en Janssens is inspired by the history and discoveries from the neighborhood of the new tunnel. The greyhound dogs come from the coat of arms, there are old tile motifs from the mill and floral elements from the landscape.

 

This artwork is the result of the ‘Master plan for train crossings in urban area‘, written by Berkman and Janssens, commissioned by the Betuweroute – ProRail Project Organization. There are 7 works of art like this, where art classes were given in every city to involve the neighborhood and residents in their own public area.