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Henk van Putten
Numberless the stars swam on their shadowy field - granite abstract sculpture

2003

About the Item

Numberless the stars swam on their shadowy field (work no. HVP01294) is a contemporary modern abstract geometric granite sculpture by acclaimed Dutch constructivist Henk van Putten, who was born in The Netherlands but for many years lived and worked in Auroville, India. Upon Henk's decease early 2019, his estate including sculptures, reliefs, paintings, drawings and even installations passed to his son and daughter back in Amsterdam. A selection of these works was shown to the larger public during a commemorative exhibition in Amsterdam in 2019, including this elegant and intriguing table top or cabinet sculpture. This sculpture is made from one piece of red multicolor granite with a very nice polished finish. This is a unique work of art, not an edition. It is one of the two works with this title, the other work is made of vizag blue granite. The title of these works is lend from the epic poem Savitri written by the famous Indian philosopher and yoga guru Sri Aurobindo. The poem line is engraved by the artist on the bottom of the sculpture. Henk van Putten originally followed a technical education and worked as an industrial designer in the 50s and 60s of last century. In that same period he extensively travelled Morocco and Spain and lived for a while on Ibiza where he started to work as an artist. Upon his return to The Netherlands in the early 70s he settled in Amsterdam and continued working as an independent sculptor. In the late 90s he became intrigued with India and after numerous trips he decided in 2001 to move permanently to Auroville in the south of India. The sculptures made by Henk are abstract geometric, constructive by nature. His ideal is to create work that has simple but strong shapes, well made and of an interesting construction. The maxim “less is more” is both his starting point as well as final objective, but elimination of constructive elements sometimes results in more, too complex results. Similarly, creating a nice visual appearance sometimes contradicts with creating a logical, well balanced aesthetic. However, over the years his geometrical ideas and the play with newly discovered mathematical ratios have taken precedence. Steel, stone and wood are the most often used materials for his sculptures, all characterized by their own possibilities and limitations. Nevertheless his work, regardless of the used materials, is always made with great accuracy and attention for the smallest details. His older work is often monumental in size although smaller works are a main part of his portfolio. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at many famous galleries and at renowned art fairs including Art Basel, Art Cologne, PAN Amsterdam, Art Rotterdam and KunstRAI Amsterdam. Private and public collections including work by Henk are among others the Yellow Fellow Foundation and Museum Het Valkhof (The Netherlands), Museum Schloss Moyland (Germany), Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (Spain) and Art Parks International (UK). Henk’s work also features in numerous artistic and scientific publications.
  • Creator:
    Henk van Putten (1936 - 2019)
  • Creation Year:
    2003
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 3.94 in (10 cm)Width: 8.67 in (22 cm)Depth: 7.49 in (19 cm)
  • Medium:
    Granite
  • Movement & Style:
    Constructivist
  • Period:
    2000-2009
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Doetinchem, NL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU111529379332
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