Gertruud works with (building) materials from monumental buildings that have already had a life behind them and bear traces of use, of the ravages of time.
Gertruud works with (building) materials from monumental buildings that have already had a life behind them and bear traces of use, of the ravages of time. She is fascinated by materials that have lost their application in building structures. Often these are materials that were not visible, have been hidden and are not immediately noticeable. She removes these materials from their construction and combines them with newly made elements, thus making the invisible visible and writing a new story. Thereby history always influences the image and may therefore be seen. Collecting of the material and the physical way of working, such as printing, casting, stacking and adding are important for the creation process. Gertruud wants to reveal the essence of the materials and create sculptures in the purest form, for on the wall or in space. Old and new, robust and vulnerable, impermanence and beauty, formal and informal, visible and invisible, that's what the work is about.