Anton Bakker
As a sculptor creating digital and physical forms, I strive to take the viewer on a journey of truth-discovery by asking them to engage with various perspectives.
––Anton Bakker, Sculptor
World-famous sculptor Anton Bakker pivots at the intersection of sculpture and digital technology. His works are made in steel, bronze, and occasionally exhibited as digital displays. His smooth, serpentine structures mesmerize and at once move viewers to question -- how can such perfect symmetry be created from materials so rigid and firm? What’s more, the shapes seem to change as viewers move around them, and the eye discovers new three-dimensional paths in lines, spirals, Mobius strips, optical illusions, fractals, and more.
Growing up in the Netherlands, Bakker had a passion for computer science. At the suggestion of a friend, he met celebrated mathematician and artist Dr. Jacobus “Koos” Verhoeff. This chance meeting over a shared passion for technology ended up turning into forty years of artistic partnership. Working in tandem, Bakker and Koos dove into the digital possibilities of complex molecular shapes. Dr. Koos happened to professionally know and personally counsel the master artist M.C. Escher in mathematics––a critical connection which ultimately injected the spirit of Escher into Bakker’s work.
After moving to the U.S., Bakker began working in computer technology. His career eventually required relocation to Paris where he resumed working and exhibiting with Koos. By balancing and ultimately merging his two interests, Bakker began applying technological knowledge––3D printing, virtual reality, pattern analysis––to his scientific sculptures.
After the death of Koos in 2018, Bakker sold his tech business and set out to create art full-time. Today, with the help of custom-built digital technologies, Bakker identifies lattice points that layout interesting paths. Through his steel and bronze creations involving complex symmetries, Anton Bakker infiltrates the psyche, urging us to consider the complexities and depth inherent in all things.
10 ARTWORKS
