The Ice tables (1986-1987) were acquired by the Kröller-Müller Museum in 1989 and are on display again after a long absence. Together with some 15 other works still owned by Jan van Munster, the exhibition offers a broad impression of his oeuvre.

Energy 

For Jan van Munster (Gorinchem, 1939), energy is both theme and material. In his glass and granite objects, energy is present as an implicit force, but energy also manifests itself literally in works that generate heat, cold or light or with other forms of charge. The tension created by contrasts such as light-dark, warm-cold, attraction-repulsion and plus-minus is the subject of many of his works.

Work in the sculpturegarden

In the summer of 2018, Jan van Munster donated Battery for five fingers (1995) to the museum. The nine-ton granite sphere is one big ball of amassed energy. The five round holes invite you to insert your fingers, in order to ‘charge yourself up’. Battery was given a place in the sculpture garden, where the granite sculpture +- has already stood since 1988. The length of the plus and the minus and the diameter of the sphere are 172 cm, Van Munster’s height.

Neonlines

Jan van Munster is also present inside the museum: in the context of architect Wim Quist’s extension, Van Munster’s Light-dark, dark-light was installed in 1977: four thin neon lines that continue to lead the visitor through a dark corridor to this day.

To the wall text

Images: Jan van Munster, Ice tables, 1986-1987, photo Michiel Vermet / Battery For Five Fingers, 1995,  Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo.