Gertjan Evenhuis

As a person, Gertjan Evenhuis (1955) is an opposite, an antipode. His images are contrary to the prevailing fashion in terms of material processing, individuality and theme. The theme of his entire oeuvre is of great expressiveness, almost of a certain infinite value. In his work the real values of our existence are always discussed, such as nature, our world, suffering, sadness, loyalty, life and death. His works evoke the opposite of what we would expect. There is always a contrast with reality. An Atlas that cannot hold its own. A ferryman who is shipwrecked on his way to eternity.

The sculpture “Antipodes” that is included in the collection of Het Depot represents that antipode par excellence. It is an image of two people who literally have a bond with each other from two sides of the globe. Gertjan's deceased partner was working in New Zealand at the time. The correspondence between New Zealand and old Zealand (Zeeland), where Gertjan lived, evoked an antipode. The idea of the sculpture “Antpodes” was born. An antipode that also took its name from the Antipodes Islands in New Zealand. All in all, coincidences that later turned out not to be coincidences, but had to do with deep emotional feelings. “Antipodes” is still Gertjan's favorite image. He remembers the whole process as a celebration and felt like a real sculptor for the first time.

In a personal sense, an antipode is someone with a different opinion. You could also say someone with an opposite nature. That label, of an opponent, counterpart, fits the person Gertjan Evenhuis. Gertjan himself is a counterweight, his own counterweight. He thinks the other way around, he thinks and acts oppositely. He does and makes the opposite of what you expect. An antipodean is also someone who goes against it. But Gertjan Evenhuis may have exceptional strength, literally and figuratively, but he is also someone who experiences and records events with great feeling. Emotionally sensitive and at the same time his own opposite.

When you look at the images of Gertjan Evenhuis, he seems to live figuratively on the other side of the world. Evenhuis is an antipode par excellence.