Cornelius Rogge (sculptor)

Cornelius Rogge (born December 21, 1932 ) is a Dutch sculptor .

Live and act

Cornelius Rogge grew up in a theosophical family, and theosophy still dominates his views on life and death.

Rogge's own background is not only theosophical, but also East Asian. His youth were shaped by stories about life in the former Dutch East Indies . In these two components one could find the basis for his unusually baroque sense of form and his lack of mysticism and mystification. The urge to visualize the transcendental leads to all of his thinking and creating. In his work, Rogge stands in contradiction to the Dutch sculpture of his own generation, which for the most part stems from rather strict Calvinist traditions. He remains an introverted loner.

There is no connection between Rogge's work and the Dutch art scene in general or the international world of modern sculpture. Nevertheless, Rogge recognizes a certain preference for the work of Eduardo Paolozzi and Daniel Spoerri . Paolozzi's absurdity and Wittgensteinian way of thinking speak to him, and in the late 1960s there was a moment of direct affinity in the use of softly curved shapes made from chrome-plated steel.

Every work by Rogge is a “sculpture trap”. Each has its ambiguity, its “double meaning”: the trap of metaphysics. Rogges Windows and Grotto's are sometimes reminiscent of the Teatrin that Lucio Fontana made between 1964 and 1966. In this way one can also return to the Italian Pittura Metafisica , where the object is life in motion and at the same time a magical revelation. Although his intentions are very different, Rogge's use of soft, spine-free objects also shows a formal relationship with the work of Claes Oldenburg . Rogge feels like one of those artists who represent an individual mythology. In this context he mentions the Documenta from 1972 and refers to Paul Thek and Panamarenko , but also to Adolf Wölfli's strange world .

Rogge's tents are in the sculpture garden of the Kröller-Müller Museum . These six brown objects are no ordinary tents. Some are in the shape of a pyramid or a truncated cone, others are reminiscent of a wigwam, a dolmen or a pyramid-shaped temple building with terraces. What contributes most to their unusual appearance is that none of the tents have an entrance; so the inside remains a secret.