Fostering an cross-pollination between the digital and the physical, Nick Ervinck explores the boundaries between various media. Studio Nick Ervinck applies tools and techniques from New Media, in order to explore the aesthetic potential of sculpture, 3D prints, animation, installation, architecture and design. Through the divergent practice, a strong fascination with the construction of space is noticeable.
Not only does Nick Ervinck focus on the autonomous sculptural object, he also questions its spatial positioning and points to the phenomenological experience and embodiment of space. Ervinck’s work in short oscillates between the static and the dynamic, prospecting new virtual or utopian territories.
Nick Ervinck’s work has been included in numerous group shows, nationally as well as internationally. His work has been exhibited at Ars Electronica Linz, Beeldenaan Zee Den Haag, Bozar Brussels, Laboral Gijon, MOCA Shanghai, MARTa Herford, Kunstverein Ahlen, Zebrastraat Ghent, HISK Ghent, Vrijstaat O./Freestate Ostend, Superstories Hasselt, BrakkeGrond Amsterdam, MAMA Rotterdam, Hermitage Amsterdam, Ron Mandos Amsterdam, Creative World Biennale Rio De Janeiro and Oklahoma and Highlight San Francisco.
Statement Nick Ervinck
I have always been fascinated by how art has developed due to new materials and techniques. The invention of photography for instance had a well-known effect on painting, the invention of silkscreen offered new opportunities for artists like Andy Warhol, etc. In sculpture the invention of fiberglass and polyester was influential for artists like Bruce Naumann who were now able to create large-scale structures that were relatively lightweight.
Somewhat disappointed at contemporary sculpture and its lack of renewal, I turned towards architecture, applied sciences and New Media, in order to elaborate a new language, and to compose forms and designs that were unthinkable in all those years before. My aim is to let architecture and sculpture meet, and to explore the realm of the impossible by constantly pushing the limits of what we call ‘realistic’.
The studio takes a vanguard position in the field of digital technology (such as 3D technology and computational design methods). 3D printing has the incredible advantage to produce almost any type of intricate geometry or ornament.The computer therefore offers me new ways for designing and thinking. Constantly working with 3D prints and various 3D software techniques, I flirt with the thin line between virtual and real, immaterial and material on a daily basis.I am particularly interested in how the computer can be used in the realization of new, organic and experimental (negative) spaces and sculptures within sculptures and how the tension between blobs and boxes is articulated during the digital designing process.
My own universe is an ongoing process of creation, a way of creating a personal mythology. It is a momentary reflection of a constantly evolving consciousness and of the innovations in our ever-changing society. Using copy-paste techniques in a 3D software environment, I derive images, shapes and textures from different sources. I reinterpret artworks and art movements from the past, while also offering a clear, original and humoristic point of view on contemporary society. Simultaneously, my work holds numerous references to architecture (think of Greg Lynn, who introduced the blob as an architectural constructive principle) and to the tradition of sculpture (from Michelangelo to Hans Arp, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore). At the same time, I derive beauty out ofeveryday objects and structures.
My artwork brings into question our vision of the future. We pretend not to know what the future will bring, nor would we know which inventive solutions could provide an answer to our current problems. The reality and the fiction of my own evolving fantasy world – with numerous references to computer games and futuristic thoughts – seamlessly overlap with one another. By fusing reality and fiction, I try to make the impossible possible. My sculptures entail aesthetic values within their own dynamic and freedom. They provide a cheerful perspective on our existence. This way, I reach for the highest level of self-expression as an artist, which reflects in the poetic design.
However using the 3D Max Software, I design my objects ‘by hand’, using no programming or algorithms. I believe that this position is unique, as strictly computer generated art mostly is ‘amnesiastic’. After the digital design and/or the printing process, the sculptures are manually sculpted by hand, which results in exclusive artworks. Thesculptures, from 3D prints to monumental artworks, transcend their digital origin. Both organic, geometrical, fluid and massive, my artworks thus demonstrate the sculpture as a cross-over, as a visual hybrid.
My designs balance on the edge of functionality, spatial interventions, digital aesthetics and object-oriented eclecticism.I experiment with different materials and categories in order to create fascinating new designs. The type of artwork I make ranges from small 3D printed sculptures to wall prints, lightboxes, installations, monumental polyester sculptures and animations.
