Thijs Kwakernaak

The constant in the work of Thijs Kwakernaak is working in wood and making figurative sculptures in which people are at the center.
Hands play a role in a lot of his work. “Hands are the tactile sense. I like to touch wood. Hands also represent doing: your eyes see something that your hands can then make.”

The environment in which Thijs Kwakernaak works influences his images. From his studio he looks out over the floodplains of the IJssel. Nature is present in this environment, nature to which Kwakernaak feels very connected. “You hear all kinds of sounds and there is nothing more healing than listening to the sounds of nature, the sound of ducks, birds crossing and spotting the kingfisher. I feel very connected to nature and also to a natural material like wood. I experience an intimacy when working in wood, a connection without words that I do not always experience with people. When a sculpture is finished, it must, as it were, want to come to me, as if some kind of being has emerged that I want to get to know.”