artist, designer, inventor

kick veldman

‘I investigate my ability to make a mirror all by myself’

Bio

Kick Veldman, He/him, 2000, born and based in Amsterdam

Medium

In the case of CASTING MIRRORS, I use gathered aluminium which I melt to then cast in a sand mold. Afterwords a long process of milling, sanding and polishing is held to unveil its reflecting abilities.

Career

After graduating at the University of the Arts in Utrecht in 2022, Veldman quickly pursued his practice of making art that focuses around the concept of function and our relationship with everyday objects. For the last 3 years this has been an inspiration source for numerous projects, producing various works which center around that particular subject. Building new perspective on inventions one at a time.

Kick is an inventor (2000, The Netherlands) He possesses a profound curiosity about the origins of everyday things and dedicates himself to understanding them down to the smallest details. His committed work process is admirable, and the results speak for themselves. Kick’s work explores how people relate to everyday objects, examining how this relationship has evolved over time and investigating the various symbolic meanings these objects carry. From here, Kick embarks on a journey of exploration, reinventing them quite literally.
CASTING MIRRORS

The invention of the mirror has had a significant impact on human evolution. In CASTING MIRRORS Kick Veldman seeks to answer the question: What is the true cost of reflection? The only way to find out was to make a mirror by himself, while being as independent as possible. Inspired by the first man-made mirror created by sanding and polishing volcanic rock (obsidian), Veldman searched for a similar kind of ‘lava’ within his area. Gathering aluminum from the streets and scrapyards gives him the possibility to showcase these otherwise discarded metals in their most refined state. The making process consists of melting, casting, milling, sanding and polishing. The work functions as a celebration of the material and its own will, while also having to fight against it, to fulfill the human desire of reflection. In the end a stronger relationship is made between the final object and he, the consumer. Ultimately creating new perspective on the already existing.

His work was to be seen at the outstanding gallery Caselli 11 - 12 in Milan and at the Museum de Fundatie 2023. Furthermore his work was showcased at OBJECT Rotterdam, Concept Gallery Ficheroux and Milan Design Week ‘23, thanks to the support of the Stimuleringsfonds. 

His most recent work is shown at groupshows at Stéphanie Frederickx and our group show at OBJECT Rotterdam 2024.

Alter house collection

OVAL SHAPED MIRRORS

For Alter house, Kick created his new collection of artworks in which he reflects upon classical oval-shaped mirrors. These mirrors were often found in chateaus and other residences of the wealthy. They were popular in their time, especially in spaces with limited light sources, as they could evenly distribute light throughout the room. In darker rooms, oval mirrors can create a soft and captivating atmosphere. The cast aluminum not only takes the form of the oval mirror itself but can also extend beyond it, representing a baroque-style frame, or the absence thereof.