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A bench made of nothing more than a bent sheet of stainless steel and two planks of meranti wood. That is typical of the work of André van Lier. Van Lier, who is not only a sculptor but also a graphic and industrial designer, has a strong preference for the unaffected. Pure materials, such as wood and metal, and geometric shapes, including the ellipse, the circle, the rectangle and the square, dominate his work. The 1988 sofa is an example of the simplicity that Van Lier strives for. With a certain refinement. Because if we look closely at the sofa, we can see subtle notches for the planks in the metal. A slanted cut for the backrest creates a beautiful interplay of lines.

Van Lier also manages to surprise the viewer. In Voorschoten, for example, he placed an enormous rectangle that was cut out of the lawn and lifted up on one side. It is an image that cyclists and walkers in particular regularly stop at and look at with some amazement. And what about the bright red metal button at the Schenk Viaduct? It's not wise to stop there, but 'Roadline' certainly catches the eye. As a depiction of the traffic flows there, that is the intention.
In the 1990s, the term constructivist was mainly associated with Van Lier's work. Also by the artist himself. This is logical, because constructivism, like Van Lier's, is about pure form without a direct relationship to visible reality. In addition, around 2010 Van Lier also made connections with the Bauhaus (1920-1933), an art movement that tried to break down the boundaries between art, craft and architecture. When we look at this sofa, we know that Van Lier succeeds in removing the distinction between the disciplines. After all, isn't the bench just as much a sculpture?