Text

They run through his work like a thread; the themes of sitting, lying and walking. Simple, but sufficient for Jan Snoeck to vary endlessly. They appear in many forms in Snoeck's colourful ceramic work, familiar to the cityscape of The Hague and known far beyond our borders.

With his seemingly uncomplicated sculptures, Snoeck ultimately wants only one thing: to depict the essence of man. Characteristic of his work are the soft shapes, rounded corners and often primary colours. Another striking feature is that the clay sculptures are always composed of planes with deep-seated lines in between. This clear division of planes is also found in his other work, such as graphics, textiles, ceramic smallware and paintings.
The seated 'Man', now in the Zuiderpark, complies in every respect with this general characterisation of a Snoeck sculpture. At the time it was a free sculpture, made without a commissioner. The Hague Mythyl School on the Van Vredenburchweg in Rijswijk was charmed by the sculpture and bought it. For children it is indeed an attractive sculpture, which on its concrete base is strong enough to climb in.

The man's head and body are one, the thick stub nose marks the face and the arms or legs are indicated by a worm-shaped band that is wrapped around the body. The worm motif, together with the chair theme, had been present in Snoeck's work since the 1960s. Apart from being the most rudimentary clay form, the worm is also a primal form that for Snoeck refers to both man and the divine.
Although Snoeck has regularly stated that his works of art make no pretensions, there is more to his accessible themes, recognisable forms and fresh colours than meets the eye.