Erzsébet Baerveldt (1968)
In her work, Erzsébet Baerveldt always highlights the ever-present tension between nature and the human spirit. For Baerveldt, history, religion and mythology hold a treasure trove of triumphs and drama worthy of a new look. Baerveldt is drawn to characters that capture the imagination: the mysterious Mona Lisa, the suffering Ophelia, treacherous Lucrezia Borgia, the Biblical Mary Magdalene and Hungary's 'bloody countess' Erzsébet Bàthory. Within these epic tales, Baerveldt focuses on two extremes within the human condition: man's will to power and man's mortality. 'A human being is out for power, over himself and others,' says Baerveldt. 'And with that as his goal, he acquires a certain type of knowledge.'* Baerveldt's work expresses that that knowledge can never give man the means of escaping suffering or penetrating the mysteries of life and death.
She draws, photographs, sculpts, performs, and creates videos, depending on what her ideas call for. Baerveldt prefers to do everything herself, because the process of working the material (clay, charcoal, bronze) makes the process of creation tangible and plays a role in the formation of her ideas.
* www.stedelijkmuseumschiedam.nl, 22.11.2008
