Hand and head (1959) Henk de Vos

photo BKOR archive
About the artwork

This work Hand and head the Rotterdam artist Henk de Vos made in 1959 for the facade of the 6th Nijverheidsschool for girls 'De Starrenburg'. The facade relief is divided into two halves. The left half shows a hand making the internationally known ok gesture: thumb and circle form the 'o' and the other fingers stretch up. The right side shows half a face. The hand gesture and face have elegant details, which give the relief an unmistakable elegance. Behind the hand a horizontal brick background is visible, behind the face the bricks are placed vertically. Despite its somewhat recessed position, the work springs forward. De Vos thus emphasized the architecture by giving depth to the building. The work has been realized with the percentage scheme.

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About the artist

In the late 1930s, Henk de Vos (Rotterdam, 1911 – Ribiers, France, 1982), left the Netherlands shortly after his education at the art academy in Rotterdam. He arrived in the Dutch East Indies and was repatriated in 1949 after his wanderings and captivity, after which he started working as an artist in Rotterdam. He was a book illustrator, graphic artist and set designer. But also active in monumental art with concrete reliefs, gobelins, mosaics and wall sculptures in perspex. In 1961 he became a lecturer at the academy in Rotterdam and worked there until his retirement in 1976. He was a talented artist who, among other things, made the relief for the Beurs metro station, depicting a welder.

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