Marathon sculpture (2001) Henk Visch
This colorful statue on the quay was designed by artist Henk Visch. It was unveiled on 18 April 2001, just before the twentieth marathon of Rotterdam was run. It Marathon sculpture is therefore a gift from the Rotterdam Marathon Foundation to the city of Rotterdam. The 5 1 / 2 meter high iron statue seems smaller from a distance than it really is. Yet with its many colorful surfaces it is a clear signal on the largely gray quay. That there is a relationship between this image and the annual endurance race is also made clear by the signs that are mounted in the base. On it you can read the names of all male and female runners who have ever won the Rotterdam marathon. But the twenty colors that Visch applied to the image also have a meaning. They symbolize the multitude of nationalities of the participants in this competition that has grown into an international phenomenon. It Marathon sculpture has of course been given a place along the marathon running route.
Henk Visch (Eindhoven, 1950) studied at the Academy of Art and Design in Den Bosch and subsequently worked as a graphic artist and draftsman. He taught at art academies in Amsterdam, Maastricht, Stuttgart and Münster. His work is versatile and consists of drawings, graphics, abstract constructions and figurative sculptures. Visch makes massive wood sculptures, but also delicate structures, stylized human figures and humorous assemblages from a wide variety of materials. Visch often combines language with images and adds poetic texts. Properties such as equilibrium and balance, vulnerability and transience play an important role in Visch's sculpture. In 2023, Visch was the winner of the 13th Wilhelminaring, the Dutch oeuvre prize for sculptors. Henk Visch lives and works in Eindhoven and Berlin.