Untitled (1981) John Meijerink
An art application by the Rotterdam sculptor Johan Meijerink has been installed at the Eendrachtsplein metro station, which was opened on 10 May 1982. 28 artists responded to an advertisement for art for this project, after which three entrants were commissioned for a sketch design. There was a request for accentuation of the metro entrance above and below ground. Meijerink's design was chosen and implemented. He designed a sculpture that, partly installed in the underground hall and partly above the ground, should give the impression of forming a whole. Underground, near the stairs to the Eendrachtsplein/Oude Binnenweg/Westblaak exit, a red copper metal tube has been placed between the floor and the ceiling at an angle of 80 degrees. A little further down the corridor, a flat circle of the same material, with a diameter of three meters, has been embedded in the floor of quartzite tiles. Above ground, when you go up (escalator) stairs, there is the same tube. The corresponding ring is placed further on in the pavement. Those who are not consciously looking for it can pass Meijerink's work without noticing it. The suggestion that the pipe continues from underground to above street level is not aroused: for practical reasons, the above-ground pipe had to be placed in such a way that it would be impossible for it to connect to the underground.
The Rotterdam sculptor Johan Meijerink (Bandoeng, Indonesia, 1948 – Rotterdam, 2011) studied at the Rotterdam Academy of Art in the late 1960s. He often made his designs of objects from bronze. The polished, abstract shapes and reflective skin make Meijerink's works seem distant, while his work, due to the same smoothness and the warm color of the bronze, at the same time invites you to touch the work. The soft, round shapes increase the attractiveness of the objects. Meijerink mainly chose round, oval or related shapes for his bronzes. His work is included in the art collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, ABN AMRO bank, the municipality of Breda and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others.