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Jochem Hendricks
Born in 1959, lives in Frankfurt am Main
Oh Materie (Version 2), 2025
Pebbles and hand-blown glass
Approx. 31 x 10 x 10 cm
Edition: 5 unique pieces, signed in the glass
€2,600 incl. 7% VAT
(Metal stand plus €500)
For the series “Grains of Sand” (since 1999), Jochem Hendricks had grains of sand counted and placed in hand-blown glass containers. The number of grains serves as the work’s title: “6,597,397 Sand Grains,” “9,114,182 Sand Grains,” etc. The sheer number of grains of sand is dizzying, considering that they were all accurately counted, recorded, and later transferred. And the extremely laborious genesis is not a minor matter, but rather the core of the series, since its price is measured by the actual labor expended and compensated. This, in turn, is beyond control, lest one break the precious shell and thus destroy the artwork.
Our edition “Oh Matter” alludes to this earlier work, which is typical of the artist’s conceptual approach. However, it follows the model only in a certain way. The much larger pebbles, which this time fill the artfully blown, fragile glass, can be measured. “Grains of Sand” and “Oh Matter” are metaphors about the value of art in a double sense. While the former focuses more on the normally immeasurable labor that goes into a work of art, our edition seems to weigh more heavily on its material value. Both are highly poetic sculptures whose interpretation of their content only offers clues without attempting to provide precise answers to the recurring questions about the appreciation or added value of art.
Jochem Hendricks (born 1959, lives in Frankfurt am Main) studied from 1980 at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, as well as in New York and Berlin. Hendricks is known for his interdisciplinary work, which encompasses drawing, sculpture, photography, video, text, and installations. His projects are often long-term projects in which he collaborates with academics, technology, and legal or political actors. He discusses social codes, ideals of beauty, concepts of value and work, and ethical questions.
Hendricks’ works have been shown in numerous international museums, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum Haus Konstruktiv (Zurich), the Kunsthalle St. Gallen, the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, The New Art Gallery Walsall, and many others.
