Herman de Vries

Herman De Vries was trained as a horticulturist and worked as a natural scientist. He started to draw and paint in the mid-1950s. His early works were composed of white paintings and sculptures, which he defined as "informal" because they bore no figuration or color. With these works, he investigated the idea of "randomness" as a principle of order with the aim of achieving absolute objectivity. During this time, he was actively involved in the exhibitions and publications of the international ZERO movement. From 1964 onward, his concern for the relationship between humanity and nature took a leading role in his work, and he developed a unique oeuvre in which he juxtaposed art, science, and philosophy with the reality of the world. In 1975, he decided that the phenomena and processes of nature constitute the physical and autonomous work of art that he, as an artist, should represent.