Nick Ervinck’s Sculptures Blend New Methods, Age-Old Inspiration

Nick Ervinck, a Belgian artist, creates studio sculptures and massive installations that take modern approaches to manipulating material and space. The artist’s work can distort the familiar or create something wholly new in this process. He uses surprising sources in crafting his imagery and textures, from organisms found in nature (both prehistoric and current) to inkblots, Japanese pop culture, and our own bodies.

“Somewhat disappointed at contemporary sculpture and it’s lack of renewal, I turned towards architecture, applied sciences and New Media, in order to elaborate a new language, and to compose forms and designs that were unthinkable in all those years before,” the artist says, in a statement. “My aim is to let architecture and sculpture meet, and to explore the realm of the impossible by constantly pushing the limits of what we call ‘realistic.’”

The artist says his work “balance on the edge of functionality, spatial interventions, digital aesthetics and object-oriented eclecticism.” The artist is a recipient of the Godecharle Prize for sculpture, the Mais Prize, and was a laureate of the Rodenbach Fonds Award. He’s designed site-specific works in his native Belgium, the Netherlands, and several spots across the world.