Under the title 'Reflection', the Mondrian House is showing various works by Herman Coppus until 10 March 2019. Paper reliefs and sculptures in glass and bronze are on display in two rooms of the museum.
In his work, Coppus is mainly inspired by constructivism and geometric abstraction. In it, he has managed to develop a completely unique visual language with a distinct attention to colour, rhythm and lighting effects.
Herman Coppus (Horst, 1955) finds it "absolutely wonderful" to exhibit in the birthplace of the pioneer of abstract art. ''Although I don't want to compare myself to Mondrian by any means, I think my work fits in very nicely there''.
Much of his oeuvre consists of geometric shapes that repeat into a pattern in a square or rectangle. A longer look at his paper reliefs reveals an ingenious and ever-changing interplay of form and light. Although Coppus limits his use of colour to primary colours and black and white, his works show a surprisingly rich palette of ever-changing hues through reflection and shading from different angles.
Late bloomer
As an artist, you could call Coppus a late bloomer. ,,I have been making autonomous work for over 20 years, but only since the last five years have I been actively showing it to the outside world," he says. After several exhibitions at galleries and art events, the exhibition at the Mondrian House is his first museum presentation . Coppus studied at the Stadsacademie Maastricht, now the Academie Beeldende Kunsten Maastricht. This was followed by a career as a teacher of visual arts and art history. Since the late 1990s, Coppus has combined teaching with being an artist.
Coppus lives and works in Ravenstein, the picturesque fortified town on the Meuse in North Brabant. In the atmospheric historic building in which he lives with spouse Marij, the artist's working table stands in the middle of the living room. At this table, surrounded by his own artworks, he works daily on his reliefs. With angelic patience and a precision bordering on perfectionism, Coppus cuts there the cubes or other shapes needed for the pattern he is currently working on.
Glass
Herman Coppus not only works with paper, but also with other materials such as bronze and glass. Examples of these can also be seen in the Mondrian House. Coppus: ,,The glass sculpture I built in the museum consists of strips of glass stacked to form a monumental, transparent form two metres high. The glass strips lie loose on top of each other; only the top strips are fixed with glue."
Coppus does not title his reliefs or sculptures. This may have something to do with the fact that the artist does not like theorising about his work. That quickly becomes so pretentious, he thinks. Coppus is certainly not pretentious, but he is a very driven artist. His work ethic is great and his production high; almost every week he produces a new work. While making a relief, new ideas for the next work often arise. There is hardly any leftover material: a new work is created from fragments of a previously made relief.
'Reflection' in the media
Broadcaster Walraven (TV broadcast 'Herman Coppus exhibits in Mondrian House Amersfoort', 18-1-2019)
Artist Magazine (No 77, 28-12-2018)
Meet & greet with Herman Coppus
Those who want to know more about the working method and the idea behind it can ask the artist himself. Retrieved from Sunday 27 January and Thursday 28 February Herman Coppus will be at the Mondrian House from 13.30 to 15.30 during a meet & greet.
Reflection - Herman Coppus can be seen from 3 November 2018 to 10 March 2019
