Hi. My name is Ron van der Ende. I am 45 years old and I live in Rotterdam with my wife Anna and my daughter Mila. We've got three cats and an allotted garden. I like cycling, music and doing art. I do sculpture professionally since I left art-school in 1988. I love my job ! I feel very lucky and privileged that I am able to do this full time.

Phoenix: Rise!

Phoenix: Rise!

Drifting North

Limo 1

Working Table

Enlighten us with your wonderful artwork.

 I build realistic bas-reliefs out of scrap wood. I have a large collection of old doors and boarding etc. that I find in the streets. I rip these up to obtain a 3mm thick veneer-like material with the old paint layers still on them. This I use to attain a colored mosaic that covers a constructed bas-relief shape. I do not use paint ! The use of built in perspective and the possibility to mimic shadows and reflections within the mosaic gives the work a very strong presence as an object despite the fact that they are in fact almost flat. I try to keep my subjects outside of the Art realm but I do not see the work as Pop Art or anything like that. To me they are just subjects taken from reality and the collective mind that provide an unobtrusive narrative.

s.t. (wood stack)

Voiture Balai

Engine House 5750

Pod (Apollo Space Capsule)

What motivates the artist within you?

I always have a lot of ideas that seem to promise something new within this field I work in, my field. I have been working this type of bas-reliefs for around eleven years but still possibilities seem endless. Progress is somewhat slow however. One piece takes 6 to 8 weeks to build so I can not hope to do more then ten pieces a year. This is another reason why ideas accumulate. When I pick a new subject I aim to have at least three good reasons to do a particular piece. The most important criteria is always the purely sculptural one: what will the resulting piece be like as an object? (In this respect the photos do not do justice to the works. They really should be seen in reality to fully appreciate them.)

Lunar Orbiter

Flagmans house

What do you like to sculpt the most?

On the one hand I really like to try my hand at totally new subjects but somehow I always seem to come back to cars. The first twelve reliefs I did were cars and every so often I just have to do another one. In fact I developed my technique especially in order to accommodate this subject.

Fishing Trawler

Sea Ice Runway Fire Engine

Is there any specific reason why you chose 'wood' to make sculptures?

My earliest memories are of the construction firm where my father worked all his life. I used to hang around that place a lot even before Kindergarten, I was three years old: The smells of the wood storage shed, the workshop and the hellish noise the machines made and how dangerous they looked. The people working there in their dusty blue overalls. In a way I guess it was unavoidable that I ended up working in wood. I was kinda born into it.


Which is the most special project to you?

That is always the one that is on the worktable. This time it is a totally new theme, a 'compound of five octahedra'. It is a star-like mathematical figure. I built a 3d paper model with a different color for each octahedron. The bas-relief is based on a photo I took of the model. The very first really abstract piece for me. I think the finished work will have a very strong impact.


Although all your projects look awesome I really liked your 'axonometric array' and 'engine house'. I am keen to learn more about them.

Axonometric Array is the largest work I did up until now. It is a group of cassette tapes set in parallel (or axonometric) perspective. I built it for an organization in Rotterdam called WORM. It is a centre for alternative music and film that I have a lot of sympathy for. The cassette tapes relate to the notion of do-it-yourself strongly prevalent at WORM. The Engine House is part of another type of subject that often returns in my work: scale landscape modelling. I love the idea of grown men working to control at least their own small warped version of the world. Also I like the idea of enlarging the scale of something that was itself a scaled down version of a previous original.

Axonometric array

Tell us about your sculpture 'still life'. What concept does it use?

This work was done within a series of four that formed my solo show Perishables on the last New York Armory Show. Still Life depicts a freshly cut Rib-Eye steak. The subject is on the very edge of what could be called a human artefact. Meat obviously is not man made in itself, but a Rib-Eye steak is. It has to be chopped into that shape. This piece of meat can be seen as a chunk of dead animal or as a depiction of delicious food. The choice is up to the viewer. There is no actual concept behind it but there are a lot of possible references to be made. My most important reason was again of a sculptural nature. The resulting object was a totally new 'thing', never before seen to men. To build such an object is like a trip into the unknown.

Still Life

Which sculpture has been the most challenging one for you?

There were a number of works that have been more of a challenge then others although in their own way every single work was (and needs to be) a challenge. There was however one work that actually failed at first. In 2003, I tried to do a piece depicting a work table that was originally supposed to incorporate two human figures, two workmen standing at this table. I started this piece in fact to sort out once and for all if I could have and wanted to have humans in my work. As the piece developed it turned out that the answer was a clear: No. It just becomes to much like a cartoon or like an illustration. Something important is lost. After that the work on this piece ground to a halt. I finished the piece two years later omitting the workers and other details I had originally planned, leaving just the table. In the end it turned out great. Lesson learnt.

Wrangler

Share one best compliment you've ever received for your work.

Actually receiving compliments is something I find very hard to do. I just blush and find myself unable to find anything appropriate to say except "ehrm, thank you...". Especially in the US they take giving compliments to the next level. I do not have an example for you though. It sounds silly when I write it down.

Many other artists would draw inspiration from you. What message do you have for them?

My take on being an artist is that it is in essence a pretty lonely existence and in order to persevere you need to make sure that you are doing something that you really really love to do and that you can develop on and excel in. Just try to enjoy your self as much as humanly possible and beyond. If you succeed with that the rest is easy.

Ron, thanks for a wonderful interview. Your artwork is superb! We wish you all the very best! Check out his website.


To read more interviews of inspiring artists like Ron, you can subscribe to our blog. You can also choose to receive updates via email.

Do join our Facebook page as well: