Herma de Wit
Herma de Wit is a Dutch artist since 1996. Before, she had a career in fashion and her own fashion label HERMA DE WIT. She works from her hometown Amsterdam and her studio in the countryside. Thanks to her technical background, her work ranges from very small to monumental large and from simple to iconic sculptures. In the quiet works on paper – prints of collected flowers and branches – she looks to subtly portray the depth and spiritual meaning in nature. Every leaf, every branch she finds, carries a story for her. De Wit: ” A silent thought that I bring to life through my hands and eyes.”
The elements of earth, such as clay and soil, forms the basis of her sculptures. They are a homage to the primal source of the biosphere. It is earth that nourishes us and connect us. This theme runs as an invisible thread throughout her work.
1. Where were you born and where are you from ?
Hilversum, The Netherlands.
2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?
Visiting Paris in 1979, Centre Pompidou / Atelier Brancusi.
3. Have you always worked in the art/design field, and what led you to the design creation ?
Yes. First as a fashion designer.
4. What led you to the design creation ?
The interior of my parental home.
5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?
If I am inspired by something in nature, I will think about what kind of material I will use
for it.
6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?
I always plan 1 or 2 days in advance. Many days I am just thinking about new work. I prepare everything 3D in my head, down to the finest detail.
7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?
After ceramic, I started casting my works in bronze. The last years, I have been printing the dried flowers on paper.
8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?
I carefully dry the flowers/branches and print them on 20 gr Japanese paper. I need to work with an assistant to handle large sizes.
9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?
Work in wax or soft clay.
10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?
Modern/botanical Art.
11. What designers and artists have influenced you ?
Josef Alberts. Vincent Van Duysen, whom I met in Milan in 1987 (we both worked there). His first home in Antwerp felt like coming home.
12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?
Edmund de Waal, Charlotte Perriand, Christiane Lemieux.
13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?
Brancusi and Barbara Hepworth.
14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?
Still life of Nature.
15. Is there anything you would like to add?
In my latest work ‘Fossils’ I try to find the spirit of nature.
PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Be happy with yourself.
2. What is your greatest fear?
War.
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Chaotic talking.
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Super authoritarian.
5. Which living person do you most admire?
Macron.
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
Living in my fantasy.
7. What is your current state of mind?
Inner peace.
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
To be frugal.
9. What is the quality you most like in a man ?
Humor.
10. What is the quality you most like in a woman ?
Honesty.
11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
None.
12. Which talent would you most like to have?
Speak foreign languages.
13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
More confidence.
14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
The creating of the Origin.
15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
As a human being.
16. Where would you most like to live?
Small lively place.
17. What is your most treasured possession?
My mother’s necklace.
18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Having no food.
19. What is your favorite occupation?
Watching docu’s.
20. What is your most marked characteristic?
Create atmosphere.
21. What do you most value in your friends?
Affection.
22. Who are your favorite writers?
Pascal de Mercier, Fran Lebowitz, Alba de Céspides.
23. Who is your hero of fiction?
Jesus.
24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Barbara Hepworth.
25. Who are your heroes in real life?
Marlene Dumas, Halina Reijn.
26. What are your favorite names?
Samuel, Josha.
27. What is it that you most dislike?
Empty people.
28. What is your greatest regret?
I threw away my early work.
29. How would you like to die?
Peacefully.
30. What is your motto?
Just keep going!
