Descrizione Opera / Biografia
In today’s world, nature and artifice are no longer distinguished on multiple levels, physical and psychical,
but, under their infinite changes of positions, as shown in the “Global Village” film, injustices remain which
affect all human beings and especially women, who notwithstanding a formal research that endorses their
image and their silhouettes, are still subject to oppression and violence.
There have been many attempts to change this situation and equal rights have been declared in the
constitution of many states. Specifically, the European Union, created to prevent also the horrors of the
Second World War from happening again, has acted as herald of this noble intention, promoting the ideal
of gender equality and the right of intermediate sex orientation which, even looking back at the origins of
humanity, have endured and still are enduring all kinds of oppression. It is mostly the thoughts that can lead
this process, along with consideration and knowledge, transforming the doctrine and the ingrained values
into an idea of life where there are no fixed models.
It is precisely this concept that the sculptor Johannes Genemans, who made his debut in the 70s – 80s as
fashion designer, refers to and expresses in these works inspired to the world of flowers, with a kind of purity
and child amazement towards the different female images from the various world’s civilizations.
These works consist of six full size girls in bronze, from six cultural environments: Mediterranean, Arabic,
African, Indian, Japanese, South American, and were conceived with no realistic purpose, but rather with the
intent to really capture the complexity of which they are part of, according to the spirit of civilization and
human redemption at the base of the whole project, named “Intercultura”.
These bodies were created by the mind of the author through many experiences and a technical ability
extensively trained, that brings him to distance himself from pure anatomy and closer to an image of
femininity, thus creating harmonic shapes decorated with silk gowns (like Brigitte Bardot’s petticoat in the
50s), which remind us of free dance moves and the fluctuation of flowers.
The ability of flowers to often grow in places different than their original environment can be a very
adequate metaphor of intercultural cooperation and balance between nature and artifice, with the ideal that
all differences be aligned, all rights be nurtured, and the roles of women be renewed, both within the family
and in the public life. The craft of Johannes Genemans, which finds in this occasion a special expressive
satisfaction and a vibrant fulfillment, represents an invitation and a model, just like dance moves invented
step-by-step, to be followed by those who truly wish to ‘give a hand’ to their fellow human beings.