When art meets life

At 25, Huub Kortekaas found inspiration in Dutch humanist and theologian Erasmus. As a token of appreciation, he created a life-size statue of his hero in 1960 — his first sculpture.

Born in 1935 in the Westland, the Netherlands, Kortekaas followed in the footsteps of his family of gardeners in a more metaphysical, artistic dimension: studying the human as a spiritual flower.

Unwind chatted to Kortekaas about his work to try and understand what it all means.

How do you describe yourself?

As a quantum-physicist, searching the fundamentals of the human awareness process. I'm not just an artist but an alchemist in search of the symbiosis between spirituality and economy, between culture and nature and between individual and society.

Why does your work focus on the plant?

I wrote the word plant 100 times as a pattern of the economy. I left the 33rd word blank, so tension was created. In my thoughts, I stood at the blank space. A golden plant grew as a sort of energy emission from the earth towards that desire. I stretched out my arms and could touch the leaves of the golden plant with my fingertips, which I felt within myself as a sort of ray of light.

I then felt connected again to the earth by the umbilical cord and I felt tremendous power.

Can you please talk about one of your several quantum-art projects, the Anima Mundi?

It's the temple for the 21st century that brings economy and spirituality together. I designed a place, actually a sort of an open temple like the Greeks' (agora). I dreamt about an open temple for the future that invited you to talk about what moves you in your deeper soul.

 Do you have any kind of connection with Dubai?

Yes, we have been invited to showcase our works at Caspaiou in Dubai. We have already been to the city twice and our third visit is planned for March next year. We have met with several highly interesting people, among whom was Khalil Abdul Wahid, Cultural Counsel of Dubai.