Caroline Coolen
For Belgian sculptor Caroline Coolen, the use of collage, montage, assemblage and free association is a way of getting to grips with reality. She summarises the multitude of impressions from reality in her sculptures. Her relationship with nature, landscape and animals is characteristic. She wants to compress this outside world – or “Umwelt”, as Coolen calls it – into a single overall impression. Often starting with modelling, she creates a conglomerate of extremely diverse materials. With this far-reaching integration, she connects space with time in which humans, animals or plants are placed. Caroline Coolen's work plays on a broad spectrum of our senses. With varied textures and diverse materials, she binds the visual to the tactile. This results in sculptures and large-format drawings that are often presented as a total installation. Caroline Coolen has presented her work many times in Belgian galleries and museums. She studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and HISK in Antwerp. She has resided several times at the Ceramic Work Centre in Oisterwijk (NL) and the Frans Masereel Centre in Kasterlee. In 2021, she presented two sculptures, “Flag” and “Chum”, during the Damme City Festival.
