Panamarenko

In his art works Panamarenko brings the wonderful world of technics and natural sciences back to life. In this way the dream of free and unhindered move, and the aesthetic aspect of the scientific analysis regain their place in the world they belong to: the world of the human being determining its position within the nature. In his projects the artist freely and inventively plays with the formal rules of mechanics and physics.
Owing to the unrestrained development of scientific knowledge the complexity of the idea of nature did also proportionally increase. This is the reason of the paradox that the human being of today is alienated from nature of which it nevertheless always deepened its knowledge. Joining Panamarenko we can now rediscover the riveting nature appearances and potentialities in the objects, drawings and sketches in which he has hidden a poetic approach to the world. His creative relationship with the gravitation laws is not aimed at taking off from the ground but at giving back to flying the poetic attraction it had when we were not yet able to fly.
Panamarenko belongs to the very little circle of worldwide admired artists with very personal, intriguing works which uneasily can be ranked in the usual categories and for which the Belgian art has gained a great reputation in the post war international art world.
(from 'Panamarenko. A retrospective', exh. cat., Royal Museums of Fine Art, Brussels, BE)