ADRIFT
MICHAEL BEHRENS - ADRIFT
Creativity generally takes an immense amount of energy and each of us refines this talent as we move through life. Over the last 20 years, German born artist Michael Behrens has been refining and perfecting his own creative process with his art. He has done this by working with some of the most innovative artists creating with the medium of glass throughout Europe. One, of most note, is his teacher and friend Dutch artist Peter Bremers. Behrens, after learning the many secrets of the material and techniques from his predecessor, has made a name for himself as one of the most diligent and impressive artists working today.
Michael Behrens’ sculptures must be experienced in person as each appears to be unearthed from the heart of the world. The color and scale of the work is unlike anything you have seen before. Behrens’ inspiration comes heavily from the aquatic as he frequently scuba dove all over the world in his youth. It would be hard to name an ocean he has yet to explore.
I also must mention that Behrens is one of the bestselling artists in the history of the gallery. Most often, each of his sculptures are quickly acquired by clients who are drawn to the work. The forms and coloring are extraordinary – almost supernatural. In my option, every important art collection should feature at least one of the artist’s works.
Explore this catalog celebrating the 12th anniversary of Michael Behrens joining our Habatat Family. The show entitled “ADRIFT” features an exceptional collection of about five years of the artist’s career. Behrens’ in-person exhibition opened in late November of 2022 and continues until mid-January of 2023. You are invited to visit the gallery and see his sculptures in person. Contact me for pricing and availability of the work in the catalog.
– Aaron Schey, Habatat Galleries
Seaforms 371-22 18 x 14 x 5.5” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 339-20 18 x 11 x 4.75” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 120-14 42.5 x 21 x 7” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 372-22 17 x 12 x 3.5” Kiln cast glass
320-20
12.5
5”
Seaforms
27 x
x
Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 361-21 18.5 x 8.75 x 4” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 343-20 24 x 14 x 5.5” Kiln cast glass
THE ARTIST
Michael Behrens was born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1973. From the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts in the Netherlands he received a BFA in 2003. During studies, Behrens had a proclivity for photography and abstract painting, but sculpture emerged as his true passion.
Both artistical talent and technical skills led him to work as an independent artist. In 2006, he founded his own studio in Düsseldorf, where he still works and lives.
Two years later, right after his first solo show in Paris, France, the Ernsting Foundation invited him to exhibit with his former professor from art school, Peter Bremers. His work received international attention due to strong color combinations and dynamic structures and shapes.
“My vision was and is to create objects in which you can see and feel the energy of nature”, Behrens says. Till today, he created five different series: Underwater-World, Landscapes, Seaforms, Phoenix and Evolution. For over 15 years now, Behrens’ sculptures are regularly shown at international art fairs and in galleries, and are present in private and public collections around the globe.
Seaforms 355-21 21.5 x 15.5 x 5” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 283-18 19 x 9 x 4.25“ Kiln cast glass
ABOUT THE WORK
Michael Behrens plays with the idea of movement and balance in massive solid glass objects.
The series Underwater world and Seaforms embody decades of personal sensory experiences above and below water. Deliberately random, yet strong shapes line organic inner structures, velvet and transparent surfaces alternate, thereby creating a dynamic harmony of inside and outside.
The sculptural and technical exploration of structure is concentrated in the Landscapes: form is predefined by nature, so that structure is brought to the fore.
With Phoenix, Behrens focusses on the abstract formal language in his sculptural work. The observer’s eye is drawn to the outlines and surfaces as every object is opaque.
Over the years, Michael has developed his exclusive and notable style and has become one of the most recognized German sculptors in his field.
Seaforms 348-20 17.5 x 21 x 5.5” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 319-20 20 x 12 x 4.75” Kiln cast glass
THE STUDIO
One foundation stone of Behrens’ career was to find the right studio with both positive energy and an environment to handle specialized technical equipment, as a suitable power supply to install own furnaces.
Already in younger age, Behrens began to acquire a highly technical background, enabling him to run the studio independently, but also to push the limits of material and ushering in a new era of kiln casted objects.
Just as design and concept, all the main works are done in the studio in Düsseldorf in hundreds of hours of preparing, model and mould making, working on the glass with different techniques, melting the objects and finally, after a long annealing period, releasing the sculpture of the mould, and grinding the structure.
A team of well-trained assistants allows to create sculptures of a specific scale. The final touch of the object surface is given by the best skilled grinders from the Czech Republic. The whole process to create this kind of sculptures is time-consuming and demanding as impatience or deviations from the production process are not forgiven.
Seaforms 313-19 43 x 14.25 x 6” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 294-19 18.5 x 12 x 4.75” Kiln cast glass
Evolution 04-22 25.5 x 18 x 6” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 364-21 14.5 x 13.5 x 4.5” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 376-22 22 x 9 x 4.75” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 249-17 14,5 x 11 x 3.5” Kiln cast glass
SEAFORMS
The Seaforms series embodies decades of Behrens’ personal sensory experiences above and below water.
“I’ve always enjoyed nature, the sea, the underwater world – this made me start creating the Seaform series,” he says, “We are coming from nature and we will go to nature again. I want to stay aware of this moving cycle.”
The resulting works appear almost natural in nature, grown in the wild and then ossified, frozen in time. The diverse color range and interior movement varies as if created organically by the environment. The natural and random appearance of the works is created by the exterior form and the specific details: The fine modeling of the subareas and edges, the interplay of matt and polished surfaces as well as the inner cell-like structures.
Seaforms 316-19 51 x 30 x 8” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 345-20 21 x 9.25 x 4.75” Kiln cast glass
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Palmer Museum of Art, State College, Pennsylvania, USA
Basch Collection, Ringling College Galleries, Sarasota, Florida, USA
MAKK, Museum of applied Arts, Cologne, Germany
Imagine Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany
Achilles Foundation, Hamburg, Germany
Ernsting Foundation, Coesfeld, Germany
MusVerre, Sars-Poteries, France
Novotný Museum, Nový Bor, Czech Republic
Glass Museum Frauenau, Frauenau, Germany
Glass Museum Lauscha, Lauscha, Germany
Glass Museum Immenhausen, Immenhausen, Germany
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Habatat Detroit Fine Art, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA
German Museum of Glass painting Linnich, Linnich, Germany
Glass Museum Frauenau, Frauenau, Germany
Sandra Ainsley Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Achilles Foundation, Hamburg, Germany
Sikabonyi Gallery, Vienna, Austria
Etienne Gallery, Oisterwijk, Netherlands
Continuum Gallery, Königswinter, Germany
De Glorie Gallery, Oosterbeek, Netherlands
Van Loon & Simons – Vught, Netherlands
Ernsting Foundation, Coesfeld, Germany
Hélène Porée Gallery, Paris, France
Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 349-20 17.5 x 20.5 x 5.5” Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 317-20 17.25 x 18.5 x 4” Kiln cast glass
Kiln cast glass
Seaforms 339-20 18 x 11 x 4.75” Seaforms 371-22 18 x 14 x 5.5” Seaforms 120-14 42.5 x 21 x 7” Seaforms 320-20 27 x 12.5 x 5” Seaforms 343-20 24 x 14 x 5.5” Seaforms 372-22 17 x 12 x 3.5” Seaforms 355-21 21.5 x 15.5 x 5” Seaforms 283-18 19 x 9 x 4.25“ Seaforms 348-20 17.5 x 21 x 5.5” Seaforms 319-20 20 x 12 x 4.75” Seaforms 313-19 43 x 14.25 x 6” Seaforms 361-21 18.5 x 8.75 x 4”
Seaforms 294-19 18.5 x 12 x 4.75” Evolution 04-22 25.5 x 18 x 6” Seaforms 364-21 14.5 x 13.5 x 4.5” Seaforms 376-22 22 x 9 x 4.75” Seaforms 249-17 14,5 x 11 x 3.5” Seaforms 268-18 53.5 x 33.5 x 8” Seaforms 317-20 17.25 x 18.5 x 4” Seaforms 345-20 21 x 9.25 x 4.75” Seaforms 349-20 17.5 x 20.5 x 5.5” Seaforms 316-19 51 x 30 x 8” Seaforms 324-20 32 x 12 x 5.25”
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Photography - Norbert Heyl
Layout - Jeannine Berenbroek Text - Dr. Susann Behrens, Aaron Schey ISBN: 978-1-928572-06-0
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