About

Some viewers might be deterred by the unsettling images of body parts turning into machineries, some might find it funny. Throughout his life Hjalmar de Kort has always been fascinated by 'angst' and obsessed by the absurdity in the human condition .
In his drawings his figures appear as looming shapes, mysterious in their identity and in their actions. Remnants of isolated organs of the body transforming man, beast and machine into hybrid beings. His space is airless, depthless, cramping and oppressive: it precludes every possibility of heroic statement.

De Kort uses the dry point etching technique but specifically refers to them as drawings. Often only one print is made of an edition in different stages, graphic reproduction is not what interests him in the technique. The dry point etching is an engraving with an etching needle upon a plate without the use of any acid. The needle used has a sharp cutting edge; in drawing the design the needle tears up the metal and leaves what is known as a burr- a ridge of metal on either side of the furrow. It is this burr which gives the quality to dry-point etchings when they are printed; it is the elaborate process of polishing, scratching, removing and building up the image that commits De Kort to obtain extensive details of the image. The intense quality of the surface is made up of fine hairlines and gray shades luring the viewer to approach the drawings close at hand. The drawings are mounted on aluminum plates and suspended from the wall at a certain distance.

click here for link to Exhibition View

Contact
E-mail: hjalmardekort@hotmail.com
Studio: Schonebergerweg 45, 3023 ZG Rotterdam, The Netherlands