Nick Ervinck

Exhibition GNI-RI JUL2020 - July-August 2020

Nick Ervinck 

NICK ERVINCK (° 1981) graduated in 2003 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent (KASK) as Master Mixed Media. Afterwards he trained in computer modeling, sculpting and working with materials such as polyester, plaster and wood. After teaching in several art academies in Belgium (2004-2012), he returned for three years to the academy in Ghent (KASK) as visiting professor.
His work consists of large installations, handmade and 3D printed sculptures, ceramics, prints, drawings, light boxes and animated films. As diverse as this art production may be, above all, he remains fascinated by the "negative space" he discovered in the work of classical sculptors such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. As a child of his time, he plays a varying game between the physical and virtual world, using both classic and new craftsmanship (computers, 3D printing and milling). He explores in his own unique way classical themes such as the human being (with a focus on his anatomy and the emergence of cyborgs), plants (especially their genetic manipulation), masks and animals, always starting from an (art) historical background, mixed with contemporary pop and sci-fi culture.
He received several prizes: Prix Godecharle (2005), The Fortis Young Ones Award (2006), the Provincial Prize for Fine Arts West Flanders (2006) and the Rodenbach Fund Award (2008). In 2013 Ervinck also won the prestigious Merit CODA Award for his art integration IMAGROD.
In 2009 Ervinck was praised for WARSUBEC, a monumental project created for the Zebrastraat cultural site in Ghent. Many public and private assignments also followed, including EGNOABER, Emmen; IMAGROD, Ostend; REWAUTAL, Sotogrande; LUCE, Amersfoort; TSENABO, Tielt; and WIBIETOE, Anderlecht. In 2009 he moved to an old car workshop and transformed it into an artist's studio. He founded Studio Nick Ervinck in 2011.
His work has been acquired by art collectors around the world and shown in solo and group exhibitions at NRW-Forum Düsseldorf; Ars Electronics, Linz; MARTa, Herford; Paul Valéry Museum, Sète; Fenaille Museum, Rodez; Laboral, Gijon; Museum Beelden aan Zee, Scheveningen; Bozar, Brussels; Brakke Grond, Amsterdam; S.M.A.K., Ghent; Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren; Museum Dr. Guislain, Ghent; Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels; Museum M, Leuven; the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent and the Middelheim Museum, Antwerp.
Outside Europe, Ervinck took his first steps with group exhibitions in UNArt Center, Shanghai; MOCA, Shanghai; Axiom, Tokyo; Oya Stone Mine, Tokyo; Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff and Chamber, New York. In 2019, at the request of the City Council of St. Petersburg, Florida, he was commissioned to create a public sculpture in bronze, OLNETOPIA. In 2020, he was asked by the Chinese government to create ALUNIK for the Shenzhen World Conventions & Exhibition Center in Shanghai. In 2021, a large solo museum exhibition is planned for him in Häme Castle organized by the National Museum of Finland. In addition to some 50 works inside and outside, a new monumental installation will be presented. The exhibition is accompanied by a voluminous monography.
Nick Ervinck lives in Lichtervelde (Belgium) with his wife Kaat and their three children, Lene, Ida and Thor.