Born in 1979 in Reno, Nevada. This american artist is currently residing and working in brooklyn, new york. He studied architecture (BArch) at the University of Oregon and Fine Arts (MFA) at Parsons the New School for Design in New York.
Majorly influenced by Vitruvius, early Roman architect who drew in inspiration from nature.
Woert rummages through convenience stores, factories, and dumpsters in Brooklyn to source materials for his sculptures to then re-presents into mature works.
Woert’s artwork is all about informed absence and the lack of values we have today.
Woert takes interest in materials we use to manufacture faux fortune. His work talks about how the world we develop and how it can only be as good as the materials and values we have to make it, which discusses modern societys' ways to replace (from stone to styrofoam and all the fibers in our daily lives). He continues to question “what this material shift is, and why it’s happening.”
In a lot of Woerts work uses mass manufactured, artificial neoclassical statues; by hallowing insides with chemicals and gunshots, or bathing them in colored resin he opens the discussion of these “gods” representing the vacuity of our values, our willingness to keep the past alive visually but not materially.
He’s stated before, “Stone sculptures represented a very monolithic understanding of the human body, in spirit and material. You could go a thousand ways with that idea ~ one god, one way of living ~ it’s one material, solid, permanent. Now we make them hollow, with a chemical concoction that mimics that way of looking at the body, and it’s a superficial understanding… That’s just who we are now. We’re not interested in anything else.”
‘reappear', red fiberglass statue, polyurethane, steel 86 x 47 x 16 inches
related artists
Adam Eckstrom and Lauren Was,matthew day jackson
The work I develop revolves around the different views and effects of self image. I take interest in societal influences on the perception of one's abilities, appearance, and personality.
I agree with his views on the way of looking at the body, and society’s superficial understanding of it. Our two very different ideas relate with the view they share when people leaving a mark on todays world and the effects there are by it.
I believe people should be informed of Nick Van Woerts art and of this “material shift” that no one seems to be realizing, we expect so much of our future but with what regards do we give on how to get there?
cite sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_van_Woert
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/t-magazine/moran-bondaroff-nick-van-woert.html?_r=0
http://www.theglamourai.com/2014/03/nick-van-woert.html
https://www.artsy.net/artist/nick-van-woert
