Mainly inspired by Constructivism and Geometric Abstraction from the twentieth century, Coppus has developed a unique visual language with undeniable attention for colour, rhythm and light effects. 

A large part of the work by Herman Coppus (Horst, 1955) consists of repetitive geometric shapes to form a pattern in a square or rectangle. Although Coppus limits his use of colour to primary colours supplemented by black and white, from various positions and through reflection and shadow effects, his works display a surprising and extensive palette of continuously changing colour schemes. Those who linger on his paper reliefs will see an ingenious and continuously changing play of shapes and light.

Late developer
As an artist, you might refer to Coppus as a late developer. He has been creating autonomous works of art for twenty years, and actively displaying them to the public over the past five years. Following various exhibitions at galleries and art manifestations, the display in the Mondriaanhuis is his first presentation in a museum.

Infinite patience
Coppus was trained at the Stadsacademie in Maastricht, today the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design (MAFAD). After that, he worked as a visual subjects and art history teacher. Since the late 1990s, Coppus has combined teaching and making artworks. He lives and works in Ravenstein; a magnificent fortified city by the river Maas in Noord-Brabant. The artist’s worktable is located in the centre of the living room in Mr and Mrs Coppus’s attractive historic house. Surrounded by his own works of art, this is where he works on his reliefs daily. With infinite patience and precision that borders perfectionism, Coppus carves the cubes or other shapes required for his patterns.

Glass
Herman Coppus works with paper as well as other materials, such as bronze and glass. His glass sculptures mainly consist of strips of reused glass he stacks into monumental and transparent shapes in space. The glass strips are piled up unattached with only the top strips fixated with glue. Coppus does not provide his reliefs or sculptures with a title. This may have to do with the fact that he does not like people to theorise about his work, something he finds rather pretentious. Coppus himself is not in the least bit pretentious, but he certainly is an extremely passionate artist. He has great enthusiasm for work and is highly productive, creating a work of art almost on a weekly basis. When working on a relief, he often develops ideas about his next work. There is very little leftover material, because most of this is used for a new relief.

Reflection - Herman Coppus
From 3 November 2018 through 10 March 2019.

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