Ad Wouters (born 1944) is a sculptor, born in the Netherlands, who is active in Belgium in Leuven and the forest south of it. Wouters is known for his oak wood sculptures.[1]
Biography
editWouters was born in Dordrecht. Starting at the age of 13, he worked in construction.[2] At the age of 22 he traveled to Africa with the Belgian NGO Bouworde.[3] After his stay in Africa, he went to live in Haasrode in Belgium, where he learned the skill of restoring buildings. Due to a work-related accident, where he fell from a church tower in the 90s he became unfit for this kind of work. From then on he developed himself as an artist.[4]
Style
editWouters creates wood sculptures, mostly from oak tree trunks or from other recovered materials.[5] He created his first wood sculpture accessible to the public, De Bosprotter commissioned by the forestry services of Meerdaal forest in the year 2000. He created several other sculptures since then.[6]
Ad's itinerary
edit
There is a path of 25 km one can take to march or cycle past most of Wouters' works through the woods of Heverlee and Meerdaal.[7][8]
Ad's itinerary leads past
edit- Ignatius (2008)
- The director (2007)
- The Neanderthal man (2008)
- Bat (2006)
- The owl (2003)
- Woodpecker (2007)
- Inky cap (2007)
- Baloo (2010)
- The Bosprotter (2000)
- Drowned (2014)
-
The Bosprotter (2000) -
Bat (2006) -
Ignatius (2008) -
De Neanderthaler (2008)
List of other works on display
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- Pootefretter (man eating carrot, which is the colloquial nickname for people from Haasrode) (1999), bronze statue in front of the community school of Haasrode
- Saint Michael (2009), brass statue in the Church of Saint Michael Leuven
- The Prophet (2012), wooden sculpture in the Sint-Donatus Park Leuven
- Arum lily wooden sculpture located in the orangerie of the Botanical garden of Leuven
- Drowned (2014), artwork made of litter, to symbolise how we are drowning in our own waste, located in Oud-Heverlee between the ponds.[9]
- Voor hen van toen, stone to commemorate the volunteers of natural reserve Doode Bemde. It's right next to a bridge of the now defunct tramway line.[10][11]
References
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- ^ Miradal, Erfgoed en Heverleebos en Meerdaalwoud. Davidsfonds/Leuven. 2009. ISBN 9789058266248.
- ^ "Achter d'oechelen (Local newspaper of Oud-Heverlee)" (in Dutch). 2006. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "Article in a Flemish newspaper" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Ad Wouters' own web site (Dutch)". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Saartje Vandendriessche (2013). "Saartje wanders around Zuid-Dijleland (Jump forward to 7 minutes)". Vlaanderen Vakantieland VRT (Flemish television), 2013 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "2fast4u.be". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Tourism services Flemish-Brabant". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Touristic services Leuven". Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ Erik Roosens (23 March 2014). "Zwerfvuilkunst siert Zoet Water". Nieuwsblad (in Dutch).[permanent dead link]
- ^ DVA (2011). "Nieuws UIT Doode Bemde" (in Dutch). Vrienden van Heverleebos en Meerdaalwoud. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
- ^ Doode Bemde, Nieuwsblad, 19 February 2009 http://www.nieuwsblad.be/articulo/detail.aspx?articuloid=4U26M2UG_16[permanent dead link].