2017 Catalogue Archive

One of a series of three pins that combine Lucy Sarneel’s signature material, zinc, with wooden forms, Bundle II is an idiosyncratic object, layering curved and flat metal shapes together into a vaguely organic, even floral, form. Using a restricted palette of two materials, subtle contrasts of color and texture become important – and even beautiful. ‘Zinc is an important material in my work’, writes Sarneel. ‘I associate its grey colour with the Dutch skies as well as the subconscious. Grey is the light force between black and white, light and dark, life and death.’ Wooden facets perhaps hint at the world of traditional adornment, while the ornate zinc construction is architectural and sculptural; together they represent the typical territory of Sarneel’s work, evoking the handmade and traditional/folkloric in contrast to the industrial and standardized. Sarneel graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, and her work has been acquired by public and private collections in the US, Europe, and Australia. In 2017, a mid-career retrospective of her work was held at the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.