Theo Niermeijer, Sculpture Composition, 1990s, Rusted Iron

Theo Niermeijer was a sculptor, painter, graphic artist, installation artist, and architect. He was also a contemporary mystic. He received training in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Warsaw. Theo Niermeijer was a decisive man and an avid traveler.

One of his studios was located in the Amsterdam district of Zeeburg, the polluted area next to the new IJburg. It was an enormous piece of land with warehouses, cars in various states of decay, trucks, and trailers. Hundreds of his sculptures were scattered inside and outside, among wrecks and nettles, leaning against trees and walls.

He was called 'the iron poet'. Metal was his material: zinc and copper for etching, stainless steel and oxidized (sheet) iron for creating sculptures. Niermeijer's sculptures are mostly abstract and made from scrap materials he found among the remnants at shipyards nearby. Like his great inspiration: the American-Japanese-Dutch artist Shinkichi Tajiri. The affinity was also thematic with inspiration from Buddhism.

At his yard on Zeeburgereiland near Amsterdam and in the northern French village of Plomion, he assembled old iron into three-dimensional sculptures with symbolic and meditative loads, often with poetic or enigmatic titles that provoke thought. The influence of time on the material - rust - was for him a necessary means of expression. He also incorporated metal into his paintings and reliefs. In characteristic 'rust drawings', the effect of rainwater on metal and paper is reflected, just as in the rust on his sculptures.

He traveled a lot and enjoyed it. To the U.S., Iceland, North Africa, and the Middle East. These travels greatly influenced his work. He was a member of Liga Nieuw Beelden and the Dutch Circle of Sculptors. He also traveled to the Far East, where he was influenced by Chinese and Buddhist philosophy. What he saw and experienced on his travels, he incorporated into his art. Theo was seeking wisdom that meant the path to enlightenment. 'Zen Buddhism is an invisible hand that stops thinking and helps you create from the infinite sea of creative possibilities. It is absolutely necessary that you work a lot, preferably every day, to keep the flow going and to guide your eyes and hands.'