I am intrigued about how to express the ephemeral, the
fleeting and transitory in the permanent, lasting medium of
bronze: the timeless bronze represents to me the never
changing moment we live in, the Power of Now: Always
experienced in different ways, fresh again and again.
The human form is my greatest inspiration, certainly its
unspeakable beauty, but very much also, its ability to change
and to show the processes of transformation. I love playing
with our ability to consciously or subconsciously read all these
expressions. I work mostly from life models, however I am not
concerned about the anatomical correctness. My concern is
the expression, the feelings generated by the work.
Death and birth do not just happen at the end and the
beginning of life, it happens every moment, it is part of
growth, of change, expressed moment to moment. My little
granddaughter is not the new born baby she was just one
year ago, that baby is gone and a totally new one year old is
celebrating her birthday.
I have drawn upon stories of transformation and
metamorphosis found in Zen stories, Greek myths, in legends
of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, in Sufi tales and poems, in
Tantra.
All these stories are about change and mutation, growth and
enlightenment. Much of my sculpture attempts to capture
these moments of metamorphoses in the permanent form of
bronze. To me, they are an expression of the ultimate
accident, the dew drop merging with the ocean. A finger
pointing to the moon.
artist statment
© 2017 nistal prem de boer
Nistal Prem de Boer was born in Amsterdam and immigrated
to Canada after finishing his degree in Architecture and
Engineering at the Technical University of Delft, the
Netherlands. In Montreal he worked at several architectural
offices. In 1976 he moved to Canada Creek, Nova Scotia,
where he started working as an independent architect.
His work focused on solar houses. He designed and built
houses and homesteads, self sufficient to a large degree,
using appropriate technology and many innovative designs
and processes. Typically he has been working in rural settings
with large owner involvement in the design and building.
Although most residences/homesteads were very low cost,
beauty and harmony have been of the highest priority. For
Nistal the actual building represents only a part of an
environment. The landscape has been integrated in all his
architectural work.
In 1988 he moved to Italy and with his partner Nistal restored
the ruins of an old watermill in Northern Italy "The Molino di
Fondo".
Here in the Agonia Valley, he created a sculptural hand-
crafted project that included a music auditorium for concerts
and groups, a large residence and four smaller apartments.
On the grounds landscape sculptures were realized:
Zen Garden, Medicine Wheel and a sculptural arrangement
of granite elements called 'Altar of Love'.
Sculpture has presented itself all his life. Nistal's architecture
and landscape design can certainly be called sculptural. His
way of working has been more that of a craftsman/artist than
of a designer. Many of Nistal's sculptures in terra cotta have
been integrated in the buildings he created.
In 1999 Nistal made Nova Scotia, Canada his principal
residence once again. Retiring mostly from architecture, his
life long love affair with sculpture changed into his
professional ambition. From this moment forth many
sculptures in bronze have seen the light.
biography
artist statment
I am intrigued about how to express the ephemeral, the
fleeting and transitory in the permanent, lasting medium of
bronze: the timeless bronze represents to me the never
changing moment we live in, the Power of Now: Always
experienced in different ways, fresh again and again.
The human form is my greatest inspiration, certainly its
unspeakable beauty, but very much also, its ability to change
and to show the processes of transformation. I love playing
with our ability to consciously or subconsciously read all these
expressions. I work mostly from life models, however I am not
concerned about the anatomical correctness. My concern is
the expression, the feelings generated by the work.
Death and birth do not just happen at the end and the
beginning of life, it happens every moment, it is part of
growth, of change, expressed moment to moment. My little
granddaughter is not the new born baby she was just one
year ago, that baby is gone and a totally new one year old is
celebrating her birthday.
I have drawn upon stories of transformation and
metamorphosis found in Zen stories, Greek myths, in legends
of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, in Sufi tales and poems, in
Tantra.
All these stories are about change and mutation, growth and
enlightenment. Much of my sculpture attempts to capture
these moments of metamorphoses in the permanent form of
bronze. To me, they are an expression of the ultimate
accident, the dew drop merging with the ocean. A finger
pointing to the moon.
Creation of sculptures in clay, molds, waxes, ceramic shells,
bronze casts and finished bronzes
Common Uncommon Art, yearly participant, Wolfville, Nova
Scotia
Nydeck Bruecke, Bern, Switserland, 150th Anniversary
Cipolla, Centro d' Ompio, Petenasco, Italy
Altar of Love, Zen Garden, Medicine Wheel, Molino di Fondo,
Ameno, Italy
Caracol, Puerta Vieho, Costa Rica
Design for 'Halifax Explosion Monument', for Keith Graham
Fountain, Lachine, Quebec
work experience