Text

This banana does not bite so deliciously. And the same applied to the orange, pear, apple, grapevine and tomato. Like the banana, they were man-sized and made of polyester. Artificial fruit' is a work of art by sculptor Phil van de Klundert. Originally 'The Hague's most famous fruit basket' was located on the lawn in front of the Leyenburg Hospital. In 2000, it was moved to the Zuiderpark. Since 2007, only the banana can be found there. The rest had suffered too much and was removed in consultation with the artist.

Van de Klundert deliberately chose a work of art that refers to reality and is accessible to everyone, young and old. But with an extra dimension: through the gigantic proportions and the striking colour, Van de Klundert points out the aesthetic possibilities of deadly simple things. Moreover, he takes everyday fruit out of its functional context, giving it monumental status.

With the subject of fruit, Van de Klundert made an amusing sidestep into his oeuvre. Because when he produced 'Kunstfruit' in 1975, the abstract geometric forms of constructivism were central to his sculptures and graphics. Van de Klundert was, however, occupied with enlarging. He blew up bolts and nuts to a ridiculous size. This is reminiscent of the work of the American artist Claes Oldenburg (1929), known for his giant trowel at the Kröller-Müller Museum.

While Oldenburg's art was related to Pop Art (1955-1970), for Van de Klundert constructivism was the foundation of his work. Until 1997, when a change took place. Since then, poetic creations have grown under his hands. He cuts landscapes from rough tree trunks. Or he splits the trunks and adorns them with wedges, thus creating 'shapes'. While retaining his sense of order, Van de Klundert has abandoned objectivity and completely opened the floodgates of his sculpture to earthly intuition.