Simon Heijdens
Simon Heijdens, Shade, 2010-ongoing. Greenwich, UK, September 2014.
“My works live embedded in their environment and reveal themselves in different ways over time. They are not attempts to capture my idea of beauty into a static shape; they need their environment to become what they are."
Portrait of Simon Heijdens. Photo: Nina Manandhar
Simon Heijdens reinterprets natural processes with unique technologies and embeds these in man-made surroundings to create mechanisms that reveal the hidden essence of a place. Meteorological conditions including sunlight and wind, custom algorithms, as well as human interactions transform the artist’s responsive artworks in real time, creating ever-changing forms. While technically complex, his installations are understated and poetic in appearance, seamlessly integrated into their environment. They evolve almost organically into a new kind of nature within urban settings, questioning the importance of nature and coincidence in an increasingly planned world, and offering moments of inquiry, wonder, and contemplation.
Heijdens’ work is featured in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Hong Kong City Council Collection; the Boijmans Museum Rotterdam and the Centraal Museum Utrecht. Notable commissions include Shade at the V&A London (2017) and the Art Institute Chicago (2010), Silent Room (2016) at SXSW in Texas, and Lightweeds for the State Visit of Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to the US (2015) and to the UK (2018).
Simon Heijdens, Waterdrawing, 2019. DRAW, Saatchi Gallery, London, May 2019.
Simon Heijdens, Tree, 2004-ongoing. SXSW, Downtown Austin, Texas, 2014.
Simon Heijdens, Silent Room, 2016.
Simon Heijdens, Lightweeds, 2005-ongoing, Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, 2011.
Simon Heijdens, Lightweeds, 2005-ongoing. Embassy of the Netherlands, 31 October 2018 – 1 April 2019.
