FROM KOLAJ #22
Belgian artist Strook & His Building-Sized Collages
A three-story collage made of wood is on the cover of Kolaj #22. The Crystal Ship was installed in Ostend, Belgium in 2017. Etty Yaniv writes in the issue, “For the Belgian artist Stefaan De Croock, who is mainly known for his figurative compositions using scrap wood, the power of collage is in giving life to materials we collectively abandon….Overall, the found wood pieces Strook fuses in his assemblages and the imagery he depicts in his collaged paintings manifest an act of revival: allocating fragmented elements of decay by making an artistic use for them and out of them. Altogether the history, location and reusability of his materials are central. Strook is preoccupied with the beauty of abandoned places on the verge of extinction, where humans may have left, but their footprints are still felt.”
This article appeared in Kolaj #22. To see more, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
Strook’s material collages and collaged paintings alike start with a line drawing. At the beginning, he draws some spontaneous linear marks, automatic workings of his hand; a constant exploration into possible outcomes with a line. Within those lines, he creates different dimensions by adding colour, structure and narrative details.
Stefaan De Croock lives and works in Bruges, Belgium. He mastered in fine arts (graphic design) at LUCA School of Arts, Sint-Lucas in Ghent. Since 2011, De Croock has fully dedicated his time to his artistic craft and project “Strook”. Strook’s work has been shown extensively in Europe and North America, most recently at the Robert Fontaine Gallery booth at the 2018 Palm Beach Modern & Contemporary Art Fair. Find out more at www.strook.eu.
This article appeared in Kolaj #22. To see more, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
Images (top to bottom):
untitled mural installed for The Crystal Ship 2017, Ostend, Belgium
by Strook
recycled wood
Photo by Ian Cox
Portrait F XI 17
by Strook
recycled wood