Arne Quinze is a conceptual artist best known for his unconventional and controversial public art installations and his trademark sculptures made out of wooden planks. Essentially referring to social interaction, evolution, communication, rhythm, the interplay of lines, contrasts and contradictions, his installations are built to provoke reaction and to intervene in the daily life of passersby confronted with his work. Recurring fundamentals in his oeuvre are the use of multiple types of wood, including salvaged wood, cardboard, polyurethane and electrical colors in fluorescent paint; and themes referring to social interaction, communication, and urbanism. Because of their intense orange-red color, Quinze’s sculptures contrast with their natural surroundings and generate a sensation of estrangement. Like a futuristic substitute for the market squares of old, the artist sees his installations as places where people meet and converse as they used to in bygone eras. His sculptures redefine social space and provide alternative models of interaction. Arne Quinze’s unconventional public installations have been on view in Belgium (Cityscape, The Sequence), Germany (The Traveller), France (Camille, Rock Strangers), Lebanon (The Visitor), China (Red Beacon) and the USA (Uchronia, Timegate), among others.
