Art in public space often starts with a cross on a plan: this is where the artwork goes. This is also visible in the new sculpture that Sergio De Beukelaer made for the Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo district in collaboration with the Antwerp Public Art Collection. Seen from above, - Release… forms a cross that marks the newly constructed intersection Schouwvegerstraat – Antwerpsebaan.
- Release… is a quirky interpretation of some specific local themes that inspired De Beukelaer. The sculpture shows a trailer, a familiar figure in the area due to the nearby port and industry. The crossed beam refers both to the load of the truck – a container full of possibilities that can be released into the world – as well as to the flat polder landscape. Like a bright pink horizon, the artwork welcomes residents and visitors to the district.
The title of the work is like a drawing: a short line, three dots and a word: redemption, release. The sculpture offers an unexpected interpretation of our environment and moves us to a different way of looking.
Historically, color has been almost entirely absent from the public art collection of Antwerp. This is now changing: De Beukelaer fully embraces the visual and emotional impact of color in his work. From his training as a painter, he uses color and line in the most powerful way possible. Although the artwork is stationary, it exudes great dynamism and energy, partly due to the figure of the semi-trailer, which crosses the landscape, but also due to the bright colors and the daring rotation of the "container". As a result, the sculpture always reveals itself in a different way, depending from which direction and at what speed you approach it.
- Release… was inaugurated on 11 February 2023 and is part of the Antwerp Public Art Collection.
About Sergio De Beukelaer
Sergio De Beukelaer was born in 1971. He lives and works in Deurne, Antwerp. He exhibited at, among others, De Garage, Mechelen; Civic Museums of San Gimignano, San Gimignano; PLUS-ONE Gallery, Antwerp; NICC, Antwerp; Roger Raveel Museum, Machelen-aan-de-Leie; Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York; Kunsthal Kade, Amersfoort; and M HKA, Antwerp.
