Untitled (1960) Paul Koning
High against the blue glazed side walls of the building From Utrecht architect JJP Oud placed two facade sculptures by sculptor Paul Koning. Both statues contain a figure with a tree. On the left a man plants a tree, on the right a woman picks the fruit from a tree. This makes the images seem to refer to Adam and Eve in paradise. The style of the sculpture is very figurative. It is a frivolous addition to an otherwise sleek and modernist building. Architect Oud had to design the building on a relatively deep and recessed plot. By means of the hard blue strips he was able to clearly separate the building from neighboring buildings. The applied façade sculptures by Koning reinforce this fact. The images symbolized the client, life insurance company Utrecht (later AMEV), both of whom used the tree planter in their logo.
Paul Koning (1916 - 1998) was a sculptor, graphic artist, draftsman and lithographer. He was educated at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam and he was a student of Jan Bronner. Figures and animal representations were often the subject of his work.