Guido Geelen

Clay is a raw material for potters and ceramists, and its use is associated more with applied arts than with monumental art. Guido Geelen managed to break with that tradition, though his unruly sculptures of clay contain many references to the decorative objects that adorn our living rooms. Initially Geelen produced sculptures which bear a distinct affinity with the austere order of Minimal Art. The building blocks of Untitled (c.t. 55/15, r+s 63855 zwart, r+s 93602 wit), for example, are stacked into straight columns, which in turn are arranged into the definite, geometric pattern of a checkerboard. The functional subtitles, which refer to the factory codes of the incorporated materials, also belong to the minimalist tradition. But in his use of detail in the sculptures, Geelen deviates from this altogether.