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That the Hague sculptor Ferry Simonis was originally an etcher can be clearly seen in his sculpture that has stood in the garden of Noordeinde Palace since 1990. The black metal ribs of the series of cubes stand out against the green of the garden like lines of etching on paper. Gradually he concentrated more on the etching plate itself. He started bending and shaping it. From those bent plates with the etched lines on them, a new, three-dimensional sculpture emerged.

Simonis was asked by Rudi Fuchs, the then director of The Hague's Gemeentemuseum, to take part in the exhibition 'Palace Garden - Sculpture Garden', a representative survey of contemporary sculpture around 1990. Simonis was one of the initiators of the exhibition and represented constructivism in it. For the artists of this movement, form, line and rhythm were no more than form, line and rhythm. Their sculptures are usually rigid, geometric abstract forms made of steel, stone or wood.

In his sculptures, Simonis manages, with minimal interventions, to deviate from the static that is characteristic of most constructivist sculptures. In the garden of the Palace he allows the cubes in the series to tilt a little more each time, thus creating a dynamic without breaking the rigid form, rhythm or line drawing. By depicting cubes with lines, he keeps his sculpture light and transparent. Moreover, in this way the rigid geometric forms merge with their organic surroundings.

After the exhibition, Simonis' sculpture was given a permanent place in the palace garden. The artist himself has been active since 1994 mainly as an organizer of cultural and literary events.