Hans Mes - Winschoterkade 11

Hans Mes (born in Utrecht, 1950) studied at the Groningen Academy of Arts ('Minerva') from 1973 to 1979, where he graduated in two disciplines: sculpting and monumental design. His work comprises not just monumental projects, but also small sculptures, relief’s, portraits and medals. On top of this, he writes poems and paints watercolours. Hans Mes starts his design process by gathering all the information he feels is relevant to the place where the sculpture is to be placed. He captures the intended location and digitally projects the sculpture onto the images of this location. This allows him to view the sculpture in its specific surroundings from all angles. He also assesses the expressiveness of intrinsic and spatial aspects. Only then does he determine which materials and techniques will best capture the essence of the design. Because of this approach, he does not only make bronze and/or stone sculptures but he also uses copper, wood, steel and water. His workshop is geared to a lot of different techniques and includes a bronze foundry; here he works full time on commissioned works of art worldwide. By carrying out each work of art personally, Mes emphasises that technical shaping the properties of materials involved is the sculptor’s spatial handwriting to create meaning by sculpture. Hans Mes himself characterizes his art as visible symbols of things invisible.