The famous sculptures of the renowned Belgian artist Odile Kinart (1945) are above all disarming. She expresses a simple, uncomplicated world. The feelings of unconcern that radiate from her bronze figures are often linked to childhood and their relatively large heads only strengthen this association. The sculptures come across as caricatured but this description falls short. The poetic subtlety with which they are designed and the beauty of their appearance touches the viewer’s heart. Through the years Kinart has developed her own language of imagery to such an extent that the distance between the state of mind that she wants to express and the aura of her bronze sculptures has become extremely small. She often portrays her figures in pairs; sitting in the bath together or on the couch, as if an instantaneous shot is being exposed of a carefree existence. The huge appeal of her sculptures can be explained by this, in part, but it is also attributable to the workmanship with which these figures are made. The technical perfection of Kinart’s sculptures, which manifests itself amongst other things, in the beautiful shiny surfaces, is remarkable. Due to the combination of her artistic sensitivity and her highly professional qualities Kinart is able to depict the yearning for a timeless happiness in a poetic way. Kinart’s works on a small as well as a monumental scale.
Education: Genk Academy, Genk, Belgium
