"Stories from the North Sea" – Anne Notebaert, Jeroen Heerwegh

Stories from the North Sea

Anne Notebaert’s art is inextricably bound to the sea. Her abstract objects resemble representatives of underwater fauna and flora. Fascinated by the seashore, she seeks inspiration in the nature surrounding her.

Anne Notebaert is an experimenter, or perhaps rather an explorer, navigating the discovered, and undiscovered, nooks in the possibilities of glass. For the realization of her artistic objects she uses a whole range of glass techniques – from traditional glassworks technology to welding and deforming glass elements in electric furnaces. She has moulded them and combined them with her needs, and with their help she builds original glass reef organisms. Sometimes they are installations that use other materials, such as the wood of "Zeepoëzie", while at other times they groups of varied, tubular forms of "Zee-parfum" – but they always "tell" the story of the seashore. Water often completes the presentation of some installations and objects.

Anne Notebaert likes to work with glass – in her studio she efficiently "juggles" the previously prepared elements and neatly connects them with elements of hot glass, poured into sand. She binds the original forms together and combines them into new compositions, some of which undergo further thermal treatment, thus changing their shape. Surprisingly well presented are, for example, small moulds melted or dipped into flat glassworks glass. This technique allows the artist to smoothly bend or wrap the element she is working on. Each of these techniques also gives her the ability to produce such characteristic matte textures and colour accents on each of the minor elements.

Anne Notebaert is well aware of all technical and technological advances to bring her abstract objects to life and make us feel the smell and taste of the North Sea when we look at them.

Professor Kazimierz Pawlak

Jeroen Heerwegh is always looking for ways to use his material. His colour palette is limited to black and white, which does not distract from the shape, but reinforces it. This creates a certain repose that radiates from the work.

The work of Heerwegh aims to attract the viewer. The artist endeavours to give his works a certain appeal. When you get closer, the work reveals forms that were not initially visible. In addition to the pure glass and ceramic, Heerwegh likes other materials, such as wood and rope, to enhance the image.

Heerwegh and Notebaert experiment outside of glass. The work of both artists connects materials and stories. Stories from the coast of the North Sea where they live.

ANNE NOTEBAERT
She studied glass art at the Academie Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium, 2006–2010, and at IKA Mechelen – Instituut voor Kunst en Ambacht Mechelen, Mechelen, Belgium, 2010–2016. She took classes in the Museum for Contemporary Glass in Sars-Poteries, France, in the Glass House, Lommel, Belgium, and also developed her glass technics working together with well-known European glass artists.
She has participated in 23 group exhibitions in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, including: Stedelijk Museum Hof Van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium, 2016; Museum Heerenveen, Heerenveen, the Netherlands, 2016; and the Glasmuseum Alter Hof Herding, Coesfeld, Germany, 2017. Two of her works are included in the Glasmuseum Alter Hof Herding collection.
The glass art of Anne Notebaert is easily recognisable by its unique style. It has grown from her fascination and sensory experience with the sea.


JEROEN HEERWEGH
Graduated as bachelor in the fine arts from the Ceramics and Glass Department, LUCA School of Arts, Ghent, Belgium, 2013. Graduated at the same school as master of fine arts, 2014, and as teacher of fine arts, 2016.
He has participated in one individual exhibition in Belgium, and in 31 group exhibitions in Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Netherlands.
His works are included in public collections of Ernsting Stiftung, Glasmuseum Alter Hof Herding, Coesfeld, Germany, and the Prague Gallery of Czech Glass, Prague, the Czech Republic.
Since 2015 he has been teaching glass at IKA Mechelen – Instituut voor Kunst en Ambacht, Belgium, the leading school for glass in Belgium.
He loves water skiing – he gives lessons in water skiing.