There are impressive bamboo structures in and around the Vincentius Church in Velp. The works of art by Antoon Versteegde from Volkel are certainly not piecemeal work. In recent years he has made replicas of an Egyptian temple in Luxor from bamboo sticks and elastic.
In the early 1970s, Antoon still wanted to make beautiful paintings, like Van Gogh. “I was quickly unlearned at art school. I had to start making abstract works. Only family and friends would come to an exhibition.”
That is why he started exhibiting in museum gardens and parks, so that people who did not visit a museum could see his work. “I needed battens for that. The battens at the hardware store were crooked and expensive, so I opted for bamboo stakes. That’s what I started building with.”
Antoon’s buildings attracted a lot of attention. “Because no one was waiting for my paintings, I continued to develop my bamboo constructions.”
“People came from all parts of Brabant to help.”
Versteegde has already built with bamboo at exhibitions all over the world. He was in London, New York, China, America and Canada, among others.
In the church in Velp you can see photos and videos of what he made earlier. There is a structure with 21 speakers in front of the Vincentius Church. Each speaker plays a different language counting from 1 to 100. “If they all start counting at the same time, it looks like they are praying together,” says the artist.
Everywhere Versteeg makes his buildings together with the local population. “I’m actually a lazy artist. I think of something and prepare the work. I work it out together with the local population or volunteers. Also here. People have come from all parts of Brabant to help. We even received help from Amsterdam. ” His partner Sylvia also exhibits colorful paintings.
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