Joost Bicker Caarten (1962, Leiden) completed his education at the City Academy in Maastricht (1982-1987) and at the glass design department of the
Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam (1987-1989). He has also followed numerous master classes in The Netherlands and abroad. His work has been
included in the collections of the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, the Glasmusea in Leerdam and the Musée des Beaux Arts in Gent. He also exhibits
regularly in galleries and museums in the Netherlands and abroad.Photo: Ad Hupkes and Joost Bicker Caarten, The Hague
“My work is frozen facets of emotions, that are
partly generated in an explosive manner – like with
the fast process of glass blowing – and partly come
into being in a thoughtful and well-planned out
manner, similar to the time-consuming process of
wood and bronze work. The position of the pieces
underlines the meaning. Sometimes they are
positioned firmly on a surface, or perhaps they
hang as it were on a silk thread.”
Joost Bicker Caarten:
“Trust develops if you are prepared to investigate the limits, to take a good look at fears and to take risks. In art, it’s not harmony that is the focus for me, but the area next to the harmony.What’s interesting is that every figure generates an ‘after figure’; an emotional reflection, where the figure is shaped by the impression of the viewer. The way this glass object hangs on a string requires trust. Do I trust it, and why? Or perhaps I don’t, and where does the trust end?”
“Trust develops if you are prepared to investigate the limits, to take a good look at fears and to take risks. In art, it’s not harmony that is the focus for me, but the area next to the harmony.What’s interesting is that every figure generates an ‘after figure’; an emotional reflection, where the figure is shaped by the impression of the viewer. The way this glass object hangs on a string requires trust. Do I trust it, and why? Or perhaps I don’t, and where does the trust end?”