Within the vast landscape of contemporary art, Leo Vroegindeweij‘s figure asserts itself through a consistent artistic inquiry that, while evolving, relentlessly probes the limits of perception and the nature of space. Indeed, the Dutch artist, known for his rigorous investigation of matter and sculptural form, has, over time, extended his artistic vocabulary to encompass in situ interventions of an intrinsically temporary nature, favoring contexts that transcend traditional exhibition frameworks. This phase culminates in the current and evocative Dep Art Out project, staged in Ceglie Messapica (BR), in the heart of Salento, in Puglia (IT). Here, within a trullo – an ancient vernacular architecture imbued with history and memory, a symbol of profound territorial rootedness – Vroegindeweij’s work unfolds in an unprecedented and complex dialogue. It is not a mere exhibition, but a meticulous interaction with the genius loci, where the temporal stratification of the place meets the contemporary vision. To fully grasp the conceptual implications of this research conducted by the artist, this dialogue is thus presented, also aimed at exploring universal questions such as the nature of perception, reality and the meaning of “chance,” which manifest in this peculiar spatial interaction.
Leo Vroegindeweij in Ceglie Messapica, photo by Fabio Mantegna, Milano, courtesy Dep Art Out, Ceglie Messapica
Antonella Buttazzo: Your research has shown a notable evolution, transitioning from a practice centered on the rigorous investigation of matter and sculptural form to interventions increasingly oriented towards in situ projects of an intrinsically temporary nature. How do you interpret this trajectory within your artistic career? Do you consider it a radical break from previous phases, or rather a natural progression that has allowed you to explore new dimensions of space and materiality, particularly in non-institutional contexts like the trullo?
Leo Vroegindeweij: The conceptual point of view has not really changed. Bringing together elements and their character in a piece for an encounter between them and with the beholder. It is what sculpture is about. But indeed the introduction of ephemeral projects is a natural progression that allows me to use elements that are temporary available as part of the installation, such as the borrowed time from the ages of the trullo. The ephemeral aspect makes it more urgent to experience it fully, as you cannot come back later.
Leo Vroegindeweij, “Untitled”, 2024, digital print on aluminium, 40 x 30cm, edition of 2; “Untitled” 2025, rvs, limestone, 99 x 141 x 127cm, photo by Fabio Mantegna, Milano, courtesy Dep Art Out, Ceglie Messapica
The Dep Art Out trullo is not merely an exhibition space, but a site steeped in history and recognized as a UNESCO heritage site. Your installation is described as a dialogue with geological formations and sediments, connecting to the real and mythical context of this structure. Could you illustrate how the history and the unique materiality of the trullo have specifically informed your creative process for this intervention, and what kind of resonance you wish to create between your work and this ancient architectural space?
To address this question I feel I have to come down to the simple reality of the installation. You have the limestone, constructive material for both the trullo and the installation: the first, once collected for the trullo in its direct surroundings, and the other introduced for the support of the spheres, collected in the surroundings of my studio. Both sites share the sediments of prehistoric sea life that are connected here. In the trullo it becomes like a family visit from abroad. For me it also is a way of understanding the trullo as a structure made from a material that is common to me: I worked with limestone before, and I do so because it is at hand and full of history. The four spheres, stacked as a tetrahedonal configuration, as fundamental as the dome-structure of the trullo, introduce into the space a form that does not express any meaning other than its own structure. This is also like a family visit, highlighting their relation. The two printed aluminum sheets in the alcoves show the base of the antlers of a deer, as it would be seen from the inside of the deer’s scull. Thus, the windowless trullo becomes like a scull, and you become part of the installation inside, looking outside trough the antlers. It is a bit like being together with a drawing inside its frame, more intimate, closer to its material aspects. Discussing the installation it was also suggested that the loss and regrowth of the antlers recalls the nature of this particular architecture, which in the 16th century was dismantled and reassembled numerous times. It is a beautiful notion… The polished surface of the spheres reflects all these aspects, only once a visitor steps into the trullo it becomes visible, with the image of the visitor included. This brings the installation down to the ephemeral moment, about a timeless environment, but urgent and narcistic, as are our times. The complexity of the deformed reflection leaves us reduced to a multi-mirrored figure in a distorted inner world.
Leo Vroegindeweij, installation for Amsterdam Sculpture Biennale ARTZUID, curated by Rudi Fuchs (former director of Stedelijk Museum), 2017, courtesy of TMH, Amsterdam
Despite the lightness and delicacy that characterize your most recent interventions, your works continue to address complex and far-reaching themes, such as the nature of perception, reality and illusion. You have also explicitly mentioned “chance encounters” as a fundamental notion in your practice. Within the specific context of Dep Art Out, how do these conceptual ideas – and particularly the role of chance or unexpected interactions – take shape and manifest for the viewer within the unique environment of the trullo?
As a sculptor I am fascinated by the behavior of the sculpture, based on its elements. Materials and forms introduce aspects from their original context. Combined in a piece they will also relate to each other, and this in the context of the spatial and temporary environment, and the conditions of the beholder. Experiencing the installation is therefore conditioned by a network of changing interactions. I am only delivering part of the elements in this network, combining the elements in the installation. Arguments that I might have will only be a layer in the experience. The origin of the elements from different worlds and their many possible associations are equally important. This strategy for the conception of my work gives a new context to the combined elements as part of the network of conditions. As a beholder we are related to this network in defining the experience of the installation. We depend on time, space, context and on our own background when we enter the trullo. We can react to the information it offers us. Within the network of conditions for the experience, the validity of different layers of possible meaning can be addressed as a continuing process. My art does not communicate meaning but behaves. Experiencing this behavior is in the encounter of the beholder in dialogue with the installation, in which both are unequal but of equal value.
Info:
Leo Vroegindeweij presented at Dep Art Out, Puglia, Italy
The Merchant House, Amsterdam x Dep Art, Milan
Sat 14 June, 18:00-21:00 or by appointment: June 14-15
https://www.depart.it/it/evento-Dep-Art-Out-Trullo-in-Ceglie-Messapica-164.htm
After obtaining the high school languages diploma, she continued her studies graduating in Art History at the University of Salento, with a bilingual thesis on the Pre-Raphaelites. Since then, she has been actively contributing as a columnist and collaborator with national blogs and with local magazines and TV programs.
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