Dan's Cover Artist Hans Van de Bovenkamp Created 'Ode to Miles Davis'

This week’s cover features the monumental sculpture work of world-renowned contemporary abstract sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp. At this year’s Hamptons Fine Art Fair, July 13–16 at the Southampton Fairgrounds, Van de Bovenkamp will not only have smaller pieces on view at one of hundreds of exhibitor booths, he’s also being honored with an induction into the Hamptons Artists Hall of Fame.

Here, he discusses the “Ode to Miles Davis” sculpture on the cover, his Hall of Fame induction and exhibitions in the works for the gallery at his studio and sculpture garden in Sagaponack and beyond.

A Chat with Hans Van de Bovenkamp

What inspired you to design “Ode to Miles Davis” in 2006?

Miles Davis owned one of my works, and then I made this sculpture after he died. I still have it, and I show it in various places. For me, music is like shapes in space, so all these shapes are sounds put in this one piece, this “Ode to Miles Davis.” I have various shapes in it — an oval, square and some soundwaves.

Every sculpture I have has some connection to something else. I’m influenced by nature, mythology and life. Mythology is important. I always look for titles in mythology, because they have such beautiful stories.

Why did you envision your Miles Davis tribute as a sculpture standing nearly 14 feet tall?

I’m more known for monumental pieces. I make small pieces as models for larger ones. I have an architectural background, so I like things that relate to architecture. Often, my sculptures are like a visual feature … a landmark for a lot of people.

When you have large sculptures in front of buildings, it reduces the scale. When you walk up to a huge building without anything, it’s pretty impressive and overwhelming, but when you put a 10–20-foot sculpture there near the entrance, it humanizes the scale.

The landmark concept is really important, because when people go on a corporate drive — I do a lot of business with corporations — and you say it’s (building) 12,422, by the time they’re driving on the road, they’ve forgotten the number. But if you say, “It has a big red sculpture outside,” they say, “Oh, of course!” It’s much more feasible than the number on the side.

What did the design and creation process entail to create this sculpture?

We built it here in the studio. Most of my sculptures in the last eight years are called “menhir,” which means “standing stone,” but most stones that are long in shape like to lie down. Like Stonehenge, these are really menhir — tall, vertical, maybe 6-foot-wide and 15-foot-high. I was just there last summer and looked at it again because the concept of menhir usually celebrates this. …

When we built (“Ode to Miles Davis”) in my studio here, I made a model, and I looked at the model and how I may enlarge it. Each shape is made individually, and then we keep piling it up to get the composition that I want, and then we weld it together.

Where does “Ode to Miles Davis” live now?

Right here in my backyard. Then it goes to the Hamptons Fine Art Fair. It’ll go there outside of the building, and then I have a booth inside. …

I cannot move my sculptures anymore. I’m 85, going on 86, and it’s hard enough to put my socks on, let alone move these sculptures. There’s a gallery in Dallas called “Bivins Gallery,” and they’re getting me a booth exhibition space in the Hamptons Fine Art Fair. They’re handling everything — the finances, the transportation, the installation. I just point a little bit.

You’re not just exhibiting at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair, you’re being presented with an award, right?

The founder Rick Friedman offered me an award called “Hall of Fame,” and I said … “Why don’t you give it to five people?” And they did. I’m one of the five artists getting into the Hall of Fame. For me, I’m very honored, but I know that at this point, it’s more important to breathe and put my shoes on.

I’ve been very blessed my whole life. I don’t think I’m a total genius, but I’ve worked long days, six or seven days a week, for most of my life. And now I’m like a screwdriver, but my mind is still working. I have a wonderful group of people helping me here (at my studio, gallery and sculpture garden). Some of them have been with me for 25 years, so they know more than I do at this point.

What other upcoming exhibitions are you looking forward to this summer?

In my personal studio, gallery and sculpture garden, we are still planning to do shows where we invite two or three other artists, and they can show there with my work. … We’ve already been planning events here, and now everybody wants to do these events and fundraisers — we always donate a certain percentage to not-for-profit organizations.

That is one thing, then right now, I have a show of three very large sculptures, 25-feet-tall, in Amsterdam. It’s a beautiful location, and so I’m still connected to Holland. … And there’s a gallery I’ve been dealing with for years that moved from California to the south of France, and they’re giving me their first internet one-man-show, very extensive. …

We are also busy with half a dozen projects in Nevada and around the United States, but those things take a long time because of the committees involved. You have to put a tie on rather than your coveralls. It’s a two-part profession: One is a businessman and promoter, and the other is making the stuff.

To see more of Hans Van de Bovenkamp’s art, visit vandebovenkamp.com. To inquire about tours of his Sagaponack sculpture garden, available pieces and upcoming events, contact Denise C. Moore, Director of Marketing and Development for Hans Van de Bovenkamp, at 310-702-5866, denise@vandebovenkamp.com.