2013年參展藝術北京，Bert的一件浮法玻璃結合天然石材作品"綿延"被龍美術館收藏
Wietske Rijpma
Bert van Loo太太
At the end of his life in 2016 Bert van Loo, my husband, wanted to send most of his artworks to China. He felt very welcome in China.
Yes Indeed ! Bert would have been delighted and I want to express my gratitude to Karen Zheng, her family and her team for the realization of this show in Shanghai!
I lived 50 years with Bert. As soon as I met him, he made quite clear to me that he wanted to work as an artist. So he did! After finishing the Rietveld Academie, he visited symposia, studio's ,museums and factories all over the world.
He was interested in how things were produced by craftsmen, mostly in a traditional way. He loved the smell and sound of woodwork and even sulfuric smell of stonequarries. He was fond of the sound and heat of metal-and glassfactories.
In those factories he always had a good chemistry with workers on all levels. He enjoyed their craftmanship which he explored to create what he wanted, Bert needed to express his ideas and feelings in his sculptures as an artist to renew himself and the visual arts.
Bert40多年藝術生涯所有展覽及活動折頁被他太太完好保存
The impression I've got is that Bert in his childhood already learned to work clean and efficiently….Impossible to return with an empty truck!... or empty handed, when serving on the cafe-terrace.
His parents went through hard times and they taught their children to serve the guests in their hotel/restaurant/cafe with a smile. His mother`s talent has been passed on to Bert… and we, Igor and I have enjoyed this very much!
Every time he succesfully completed a project/sculpture, Bert was so relieved and grateful for all the cooperation of beloved, powerful and competent persons in different situations and cultures.
For this reason I want to thank Karen Zheng with your family and the whole crew...Jackie, Tina, Lulu and all the workers in Xian and wherever, I am deeply touched by your loving, energetic, guiding and support of Bert in China and special here in Levant Art Gallery!!!
Bert的妻子Wietske於開幕前認真擦拭每一件玻璃作品
Igor van Loo
Bert van Loo兒子
Igor偶爾隨父親一起進行玻璃的切割和打磨
Bert的兒子Igor準備開幕致辭及圖文介紹
（以下是開幕式上為觀眾呈現的內容）
The happening of this exhibition was a big wish of my father, Bert van Loo. When he got ill, it became his last wish. Before his death in December 2016 he said I might have to represent him in Shanghai..What would he say here and now, about his own works of art? But little! He might have said : Look at the objects and let them speak…
悼念卡上開頭便清晰地寫著 Look at the objects and let them speak…
That was also the text on his mourning card, perfectly formulated by my mother Wytske. I knew Bert indeed meant that his objects spoke for themselves, but only after his dead I found out that his objects really do speak!
I'll tell you now what Bert's works have told me after the moment of his death. Chinese folks won't feel fooled. They believe even stones can have a soul.
作品 And the Seventh & Exception 暗示著他與其兄弟姐妹的與眾不同及
逐漸偏離家庭為他安排的軌道
Bert was predestinated to make faraway journeys, to migrate away from his home town and his family traditions…………. 'And the seventh' and 'Exception' show Bert, seventh child in his family, being just a little offset. I only saw this after he died…
作品 Mask & Portrait 意味著他作為藝術家獲得重生
Bert's migration to becoming an artist was not an easy process and not happening in one day. 'Mask' and 'Portrait' tell a story of how Bert distanced himself from his family tradition. In short: the story of his 'rebirthing' as an artist.
Bert作品中經常可見象徵著"新生"的"蛋型"雕塑
He was always 'future-minded'. Births and eggs are to be seen many times in his work. They symbolize the road ahead, the energy of life. Even just before his death he said: I rather go home then to stay hospital. At home I』ll be able to THINK of working in my studio. So …. at home … in his bed … until the last day of his life he was happily thinking over new projects!
Making art was a necessity. Bert would use any material and transform it into art. His very skilled hands knew what to do with clay! He also used a chainsaw, lots of glue, he shaped polystyrene with a copper brush, chiseled all kinds of stone.
非常善於泥塑的Bert
And in the hospital he used band aid as linen to paint on….
在醫院治療時，看見牆上醜醜的洞，也忍不住扯下一條紗布畫上可愛的圖把洞貼上
Bert's career had ups and downs, great ups and long downs. There was no rise
'straight to the top'. Everything was subject to the tides of life. In his work the contrast between light and dark is apparent, among many other contrasts.
Obviously, the lighter parts in some works symbolize 'the positive'.
作品"潮汐" 比喻生命的跌宕起伏
In 'Atonement' and 'Freedom' it is clear how the light, positive force conquers the dark. Glass is not generally known as a symbol of life. But Bert made the glass look like a stream of water (in 'Boat' and 'Senza Parole')….and he made it move in 'In Between' and 'Vital' and 'Flood' and he made it shine like a light. And with all this glass became nearer to being 'alive'.
作品"Atonement" & "Freedom"
灰暗的石頭及透徹的玻璃，象徵著光明與黑暗的較量
作品"Boat" 被北京私人藏家收藏
左圖作品"Vital"於2011年落成西安世博園
右圖作品"Flood"作為Bert逝世後的墓碑
Bert often said he liked glass as a material, because "it is there and it is not there". Then he himself made objects, that show figures 'that are there and not there' at the same time. They are transparent, just like the glass they are made of. They are like a soul: not to be weighed, grabbed or measured, but noticeable. The wife of a big collector of Bert’s work told to my mother and me that she would place a transparent work of her collection, Scarab, on her own grave.
作品 Scarab
Every detail matters. It mattered that Bert's pyramids have 3 sides, not 4. Also the lines of movement in the glass matter. Bert always took care to damage the sides of freshly cutted glass in order to improve the 'shine' of it.
It mattered that he used very dark glass in all the Czech pieces, and very light glass in the chandeliers. Every detail mattered and was taken care of…. Bert strived for perfection, but never wanted to attain it. A perfect result is boring, imperfection is energizing! ………. Bert has transmitted his energy by his works of art. You can feel that energy by looking at his works …. And then you can hear what they say.
Bert was very happy in the last segment of his life, thanks to the cooperation with Karen and her crew during his last 8 years. In the everlasting challenges of life the positive conquered the negative.
為個人藝術生涯獻上一頂皇冠，正如此件作品"Crown"
He was able to put a Crown on his career. The cooperation with Karen and her crew gave him an impulse, and the possibility to produce one last series of work in Leerdam in 2015. Today opens the first exhibition of nine of these extremely light-spreading pieces of lead-crystal glass.
With these Bert wants to 'keep Illuminating' this special place in the world and all people who are fascinated by his art.
Jappie Rijpma
Bert太太Wietske的兄長
Once newly married, things quickly changed (where did you hear this before?). He was doing very well as a pill salesman, and was up for a good promotion at the drug store company. But he refused, so he could become an artist and study at the Rietveld Academy. "Are you sure you should do this?" was the first reaction from his agrarian Frisian family. Farming and art are two different worlds, even though both are a culture, a way of life. One basic, the other enlightened and with more chances for failure.
Bert understood this, and knew that he wouldn't have an easy career, but he had faith. There wasn't a lot of money - certainly in the beginning and with financial depressions. He didn't cut corners with his work. He was determined to make beautiful art with a capital A. He didn't lose his passion, and that probably wasn't even possible anymore, after he started getting praise from around the world - with lots of exhibitions and teaching assignments. He was important in the world of glass.
Many years before Rutte's cabinet talking about a "society of participation", Bert had already made a beautiful sculpture of this, which was full of symbolism. The increasingly small layers of clear glass were held by, and kept in balance with, natural stone, always in different positions. Look… and let the sculptures speak for themselves.
My amateur's view of art is simple. If "stopping for a moment at a sculpture" is a form of applause, then Bert has received a lot of silent applause. He made beautiful sculptures. The combination of stone and glass remain exciting and fascinating, it makes you stop for a moment. His form of eternity.
Thank you, Bert.
Wietske女士的兄長於荷蘭全力幫忙本次展覽大量的打包及裝箱工作Imke Horvers
Bert侄女的女兒
「Good art comes from inner emotions」
Bert van Loo is an artist. He's been making art for more than 30 years, at this moment mainly in glass and stone. Work for public spaces, small pieces for exhibitions and private spaces. Although he is very active in the world of art policy, this is not expressed in the works he makes. Because of his many years of experience, he has outspoken opinions about socially-engaged art and how society is clearly reflected in his work. Open-air sculptures by Van Loo can be seen in Amsterdam - next to the Meervaart theater in Osdorp, and at the Taxonomic Zoology Institute - but also in Lisse or Emmeloord.
作品落成荷蘭Osdorp
作品落成荷蘭
He has also exhibited in Iran, Spain, Japan, the United States, Australia and other countries - and of course in many places in the Netherlands, including the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum.」
Frans Spaapen
家族朋友
Dear Wietske,
Even though Bert's death was to be expected any moment, his passing still seemed sudden to me. As strong as he acted during my visits, I had hoped that he would make it to the New Year. But just before Christmas, it apparently enough for him.
I feel an ambivalence about his death. One the one hand, sad because of this loss, but on the other hand happy because he doesn't have to suffer anymore. During his illness, I almost never heard him complain, but you could see how much he was suffering in his eyes. Complaining wasn't part of Bert's nature. In all the years that I've known him, he was always an unapologetic optimist and never hung his head. Even when the economy was blustery, Bert stayed the course and kept looking for new ways to get share his art with people. Art was his heart and soul, and he always followed his heart, without making too many concessions. He wasn't only true to himself, but also to others. During difficult times with Paul, Rieke could always depend on you and Bert. And during those difficult times after Reike’s death, I could always come knocking and was warmly welcomed.
Bert was crazy about Amsterdam, but never forgot his Limburg roots. You could see them in his enormous hospitality and his love of good food with friends and family. I can see him now, standing in the kitchen with an apron on, stirring pots and pans. Then he walks back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room to make sure – very easygoing – that the glasses were filled and stayed full. His meals were always original and especially delicious.
Once, when we were doing something together as professionals, Bert wanted to compete for the commission to design a chandelier for the Province of North Holland building in Haarlem. He asked me for advice, because of my experience with requests for tenders. It was wonderful to see, from close by, how professionally and conscientiously Bert took on the challenge of winning the commission. It was even more wonderful that his design was judged to be the best, and that the commission went to him. The result speaks for itself: a beautiful chandelier adorns the conference room of the Provincial Council of North Holland.
Bert may no longer be among us in the flesh, but he lives on in our memories and the beautiful oeuvre that he has left behind.
I wish you, Igor, Yvonne and Tonia much strength, faith and life as you process Bert's death and the loss, and I am sure that your (shared) dear memories of Bert will give you the power and energy to keep on going without Bert, as unbelievable as that must seem at this moment.
If you need any help, you know where to find me.
Much strength!