Wooden Wall Sculptures

A refreshing mix of different types of wood, put together as a panel featuring bright but naturally colored wood and dark burnt wood. A simple contrast between soft edges created by water and wind, and complex structures created by fire. These two types of erosion offer a large variety of forms that are presented in the wooden wall sculptures made by artist Antonius Driessens. Handmade, unique, as well as eco-friendly, these sustainable sculptures use no nails or screws. All assemblies are made from wood to maintain and respect the original material that is also the subject of the artwork.

trompe l'oeil wall panels

2014 is the year where a new collection of wall sculptures sees the light. This series shows a selection of frames that suggust volume, while remaining flat on the wall. These trompe l'oeil artworks are made with salvage timber, old planks, weathered wood and burnt wood. As in the earlier panels the material is the same and the natural colors, changed by erosion, create the different shades of grey and wood color. Going from light to dark these differences can be seen as an object receiving light and casting shadow.

The parts of wood that have been used are found in junkyards, abandonned construction sites, and sometimes given by workers. The goal is to avoid wood being cut for this use and recycling has enough possibilities to create with wood that is there around us. Also, fresh cut wood has far less interest as it has no history to tell whereas the old weathered wood has traces of the past, scars, bumps etc. This soul that has become part of the material can now be part of a new object.

The trompe l'oeil frames suggest perspective in a room and offer both warmth by the wood itself, and a contemporary style which is very geometrical. These volumes sometimes interact with the space there exhibited in. Naming these artworks wall panels is therefore funny since they may suggest walls, or surfaces, creating virtual spaces within real life spaces.

sustainable art

The wooden wall sculptures integrate weathered wood, light colored by the sun and reshaped by the waves of water over a long period of time. These pieces of driftwood or rough timber are combined with old burnt planks that show dark cellular shapes. Other wooden pieces include dead wood from the french Provence that has also turned grey by the sun and the dryness of this region.

After moving close to the city of Nimes in the south of France I found the historical background of bleu jeans, called denim. Denim means it comes from Nimes and this tissue is made with the famous "toile de nimes" or "serge de nimes". first made with silk and wool, than after the USA developpement the tissue was made with cotton. This common material lends itself for the same type of work and since it is so incrusted in my current environment is was logical to integrate it in my work. Check out my denim wall panels in perspective suggesting volumes whereas they are flat.

In a more deeper thought, Antonius Driessens says:
"The basic material is wood. Everybody knows wood. This wood has been used, has been dropped, has been rejected, has been thrown away after its primary function for humans. However this is not the end. In my artworks, wood has its second life, and all scars from the past, all parts that have been deformed over time are now put in the spotlight. It is a way of saying:
you, rejected from society, you are beautiful
you, with your scars all over, you are beautiful
you, with your defaults and misplaced structure, you are beautiful
I love you the way you are."