"Anaglyphs" shows the result of a three month project which artist Bob Takes began at CEAC in Xiamen and which he completed in his home country of Belgium.
Bob Takes (1953) is an artist based in Antwerp who is known for his steel sculptures. He studied both graphic design and audiovisual design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in the 1980's, and although his practice can be understood as diverse his background in graphic design is still clearly recognizable. Through his autonomous work, Takes balances playfully on the border of the abstract and the figurative. Takes has shown his work previously in both established art space and gallery environments, as well as large-scale public spaces. When creating his works, Takes commonly combines the digital with the manual. He came to Xiamen to take this merging of digital and manual crafts a step further.
A recurring aspect in the work of Bob Takes is his ‘Seascapes'. Through these visualizations, Takes translates the dynamics of the sea into steel sculptures. For his project in Xiamen he wanted to use this same concept but using a different process. Instead of steel, Takes has experimented with the traditional Chinese technique of woodblock printing, a technique which dates back to around 1500 BC. In contemporary China there are only a handful of people who can be considered masters of this traditional technique. Takes has reinterpreted this ancient practice, making it his own by introducing digital craft into the production process and the art of 3D into the artwork itself.
In this exhibition at CEAC, six works are shown of which three demonstrate Takes' practice of traditional woodblock printing as a part of the production process. The resulting 3D Seascapes are the culmination of Takes' project. They are named after their relative GPS positions, "N14º | W118º V1", "N14º | W118º V2" and "N14º | W118º V3". The Seascapes are colored in red and cyan, meaning they come to life when seen through 3D glasses.
About the exhibition
Duration: 28 June - 11 July 2014
Venue: Chinese European Art
Opening: Saturday June 28 2014 17:00
Opening Hours: 12:30-17:30 (Tues-Sat)
Tel: 13806021762
Add: 3rd Floor, Siming South Road 400, Xiamen
Courtesy of the artist and Chinese European Art.
