trained as a botanist, herman de vries began his art career in the 1950's. working in tandem with artists of the zero movement, de vries produced reductive white paintings and initiated a decade long exploration into the use of chance procedures to create collage works entitled: 'random objectivations'.
1970, de vries went to live in eschenau, a small village in northern bavaria. once there, he began to work directly with nature, presenting and selecting objects and circumstances from the larger environment. with the artist's declaration "my poetry is the world", these works in nature have continued to the present day, reflecting the artist's interest in chance, change and the environment.
his large scale work: 'sanctuarium', was a center piece of the munster outdoor sculpture project in 1997, and was one of the 2 works selected by the cities population to remain permanently on display. 1998, de vries was awarded the oeuvre prize by the dutch government. his work is known from many international exhibitions.
a highlight in herman's career was his participation in the fifty sixth venice biennale, 2015. he was chosen to represent the netherlands in a solo show 'to be all ways to be' in the dutch pavilion, as well as a special project on the uninhabited island lazaretto vecchio.
de vries lives and works in eschenau, germany.
www.hermandevries.org