Dutch artist herman de vries (*1931 in Alkmaar) worked as a farm laborer and gardener in France and the Netherlands before joining the Institute for Research in Plant Diseases in Wageningen from 1952 to 1956 and the Institute for Applied Biological Research in Nature (Arnhem) from 1961 to 1968. In 1970 he moved to Eschenau in the Steigerwald.
In 1953, herman de vries began to work artistically. From the early 1960s he belonged to the NUL group and became part of the international ZERO movement. During this time he was intensively involved with the teachings of Zen Buddhism. From 1969 on, he undertook numerous trips to Africa and Asia and made his first psychedelic experiments. In 1970 he turned his attention to nature.
In 1953 he created his first informal works, in 1956 his first white collages and in 1959 his first white painting. From 1961 to 1964 herman de vries, together with Armando and Henk Peeters published the magazine nul = 0. In 1962 he developed his random objectivations, works created using random tables, which were his first aleatoric works. He published wit / weiss, a book without textual content, his first artist book. From 1965 to 1972, herman de vries edited the revue intégration. In 1965 he also began to experiment artistically with language as a material. From 1974 to 2015, he published 72 small publications or artist books in the Eschenauer Summer Press, which he founded. In 1975 he created his first works with found natural material and in 1978 his first earth rubbings. In 2016, herman de vries published the earth museum catalogue, a facsimile edition with over 8000 earth rubbings.
As early as 1954, herman de vries had his first solo exhibition. His works were subsequently exhibited internationally, including at the SkulpturenProjekt Münster and at the Venice and Lyon Biennials. In 1997, he created a sanctuarium for SkulpturProjekte Münster, a protected place where nature can unfold freely. In 2015, herman de vries designed the Dutch pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale.
herman de vries released the following records, among others:
The Music of Sound 1 (1977)
The Music of Sound 2 (2017)
ATJ