“Footsteps from the past”

“Footsteps from the past” consists of different boulders placed on one of the hiking trails on the mountains around the Norwegian city of Bergen.On each stone there is a footprint. Footprints of animals and people, which also allows us to walk through history.

It all started with the footprint of the dinosaurus, which lived a 250 million years ago to be gone a 66 million years ago.

After the dinosaurus the elephant appeared and left his print until today

The bear came later, about 2,5 million years ago and travelled from Europe all over Asia and North America.

Modern man came only 300 thousand years ago and walked on two feet all over the globe.

Then shoes took over the footprints. This is a model of a Dutch wooden shoe.

The Octopus

Another boulder-sculpture was born this summer. During the Skulpur i landskap Os granite symposium I could make another sculpture. This time it is placed on the hiking trails of the Floyen mountain, one of the seven mountains around the city of Bergen in Norway. On top of that mountain you can see far over the fjords.

The octopus is laying on top of one of these beautiful norwegian stones. Soft and gentle, trapped in its magic to be able to change shape and color under any circumstance, the octopus has become Floyens fantasy animal.

Exhibition at DML Gallery, Oostduinkerke, Belgium

“SHAPE”

From March 30 until May 26 my work is shown at the Demuelenaere & Lefevere – Art Gallery, Oostduinkerke, Belgium.

A wonderful group exhibition !

The gallery is open from Friday to Sunday from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm.

Os international sculpture symposium

Up north there is a town called Os. It is situated south of Bergen at the Bjørnefjorden in Norway. Here the daylight stays  all  night long and the water and the mountains are changing their colors from black to pink and from blue to white. The green winters, as they call these summers up there, are cold but beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

granite 125 cm high

 

 

 

I had the honor to be invited to the Os international sculpture symposium to make a sculpture in Os this year.

For many years the sculptor Arne Maeland together with the people of the Os Kulturutvikling Committee were able to bring sculptors from all over the world to work in Os and it has become a beautiful event that is cherished by the people of this town.

 

 

 

 

 

visitors to the workplace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia

On one of the hills in the beautiful landscape of the Adelaide Hills region in Australia, there is a place called “The Cedars”. This year ten sculptors were invited by the Adelaide Hills International Sculpture Symposium (www.adelaidehillssculpture.com.au) to come to this place and carve a work of art for the Hills Sculpture Trail, which was an idea founded by a group of volunteers in 2011 and the sculptor Silvio Apponyi to “enrich the Hills with sculpture.

“The View 2”

My work “The View 2 ” is made in the australian “Black Hill black granite” . The sculpture is 260 cm high and can be twisted on its base. The sculpture was commissioned by the Klein Family Foundation to enrich the entrance of the Ngeringa Cultural Centre (www.Ngeringaculturalcentre.com) at Mt. Barker.–

 

 

 

 

 

Sculptures at Miyazaki Airport Japan

From the 7th until the 21st of june my work is shown at The International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture 2015 at Miyazaki Airport in Japan.

 

http://www.karinvanommeren.com

 

International Sculpture Symposium Kinmen Taiwan

The island Kinmen is situated close to the shores of China and is part of Taiwan. The name Kinmen (Quemoy) means “Golden Gate”. Because of its strategical position the island became important , was involved in many wars and became a military reserve.

In 1992 Kinmen was returned to the civilian government after which travel to and from it was allowed and tourists could visit the island. The old houses were restored in their old style, the Kinmen National Park was founded and the Kinmen Institute of Technology became the National Quemoy University.

This year, for the first time, an international sculpture symposium was organised at the Quemoy University. Nine sculptures were placed permanently on the campus of the university. Four of them, including my work, were made on the spot by the artists. On the pictures you can see me sculpting the stone.  The sculpture is made out of persian travertine; a beautiful stone.

In the photo here below you can see the final sculpture installed at the campus.

“The Gate”       persian travertine       2014      Kinmen      Taiwan

 

Visit my website:  www.karinvanommeren.com

“The Wuhu Sculpture Park” China

 Wuhu is an important inland city in China with a long history, great geographic location and a fast developing industry and commerce. The living standard and cultural and spiritual level are rising up, which breeds the actual need to develop the city’s public art section.

The planning and preparation of the Wuhu Sculpture Park were initiated in 2010. The China Sculpture Institute, The China Academy of Art and the Wuhu municipality worked together to create what they hope to be the best sculpture park of China and in the world in near future.  The park is rooted in the beautiful natural scenery of the God Mountain area and it reflects the city culture and city characteristics.

The creation of the park happens at the same time as the selection of the sculptures so that consequently the sculptures and the scenery fit well together. There is a great variety of sculptures. Works from older, well-known sculptors as well as from the younger generation can be seen while you walk in the park. And both contemporary, international artists as local Chinese artists are presented. In the last 3 years 145 sculptures were installed in the Wuhu Sculpture Exhibition, of which119 from Chinese artists and 25 from foreign artists.

Every day many visitors come to the park and it has become the favourite place for the local people to go for a walk. Some sculptures are inviting for children to touch and others may inspire you to philosophical contemplation. And this was also the aim of the organisation to improve the cultural and spiritual level of the local people by the integration of public art.   

“Roots” black granite

This year one of my sculptures was placed in the park and so I had the honour to take part of the history of this park. My sculpture “Roots” , 5 meters high and made of black granite was awarded with the Liu Kaiqu Award. The sculpture symbolizes our connection with the past, with the earth where life begins and with the history we carry inside.

Four Sculptors in Lübeck

                                   Frede Troelsen, Winni Schaak, Karin van Ommeren en Jo Kley

The oldest “Way of the Cross”  (Calvary) in Germany is located In Lübeck, the famous Hanze city in the North of Germany; it’s been there since 1493. With a distance of 1650 meters the walk goes from the St. Jacobi Church to the Hill of Jerusalem.

This year four sculptors were invited to create abstract sculptures in the form of a stèle. At the same time three sculptures were created to commemorate the four clergymen from Lübeck that were killed by the fascists during the Second World War.

Eight sculptures were created on total, in Swedish granite and in steel.

I made two sculptures in granite:Sculpture for the “Way of the Cross,” placed on Gustav-Radbruck-Platz, Lübeck, Germany

Sculpture for the “Way of the Martyrs,” placed before the Lauerhof prison, Lübeck, Germany.

I have a new sculpture blog!

Hello everybody. My name is Karin van Ommeren and I am a Dutch sculptor working primarily in granite. My studio is in Pietrasanta, in Tuscany, Italy.

Follow this blog to keep updated on my work.

Visit my website at www.KarinvanOmmeren.com