herman de vries (1931, Alkmaar) is a Dutch artist who has dedicated his entire life to making the reality of nature visible. He consistently writes his name in lower case, as a sign of his conviction that man should not place himself above nature. In his work, the focus is not on the ego of the artist or the aesthetic judgement, but on the experience itself – direct, sensual and without the intervention of interpretation.
Originally trained as a biologist, de vries worked at the Institute for Applied Biological Research in Nature in the 1950s. This background is reflected in his work: meticulous, analytical, but also open to the unpredictable and chance. In the 1960s, he joined the international ZERO movement, which opposed traditional art forms and advocated a new, objective visual language. Nevertheless, de vries chose his own path, with nature as his starting point and material. He collected earth, leaves, flowers, moss and stones, and presented them in display cases or on panels – not as representation, but as reality. His work does not show an image of nature, but nature itself.
Since 1970 he has lived in Eschenau, Germany, in the middle of the forest, where he works and lives in direct connection with his environment. Many of his well-known works were created there, including sanctuaries: pieces of nature that he demarcates so that they can grow untouched. This radical gesture – doing nothing, except giving space – is characteristic of his oeuvre. In 2015 he represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale with such a sanctuary, surrounded by a golden fence, in the middle of the Arsenale.
Language is another important element in his work. In short sentences and sober typography, often in several languages, he encourages reflection on nature, time, silence and being. “my poetry is the world,” he wrote. “i write it every day.” His work is a plea for attention: for the small, the temporary, the cyclical. Not as a romantic image of nature, but as an exact, penetrating experience.
herman de vries is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in ecological and conceptual art. His work can be found in numerous museum collections, from the Stedelijk Museum and the Kröller-Müller to the Centre Pompidou and Museum Ludwig. Yet he sees himself primarily as a mediator – someone who shows reality as it is, without frills. “i do nothing,” he often says. “i just show.”
