Schets van gips voor buste Ronald de Leeuw Possibly 2008 - 2015

This white plaster sketch for a bust of Ronald de Leeuw, by Tony van de Vorst, looks like a ghost just emerged from the wall. I wonder if this unfinished look is intentional? It reminds me of the ancient Greek statues with broken noses. I imagine Van de Vorst starting with an armature, building up the plaster, layer by layer. Each touch of the hand, a conversation between the artist and the emerging form. Do you see how the surface is rough, almost raw? You can feel the artist's hand in every lump and ridge. It's like the sculpture is still breathing, still becoming. There’s a real history to this work. It reminds me of Medardo Rosso, who worked similarly with plaster, making these ghostly figures. It’s a generous act on the part of the artist to leave it like this, making the act of sculpting itself visible. I find myself wondering what the final version looked like. Artists are always in conversation with one another, you know, riffing on the same ideas, pushing them in new directions. And it is never really done…