Arik Levy designs RockGrowth sculpture for Atomium in Brussels

The Atomium has invited Arik Levy to design a sculpture that will be permanently installed on the Atomium site in Brussels. The RockGrowth sculpture is part of the ARTVIEW exhibit that will take place April 25th, 2014 – Sept. 30, 2014. Organized as part of the Art Brussels event and Design September, the new exhibition invites visitors to discover a series of creations, including the RockGrowth Atomium, specifically created for the venue.

Image © Christophe Licoppe Befocus

The designated location is right under the Atomium edifice. It’s a superb location for a coloured piece that will reflect in the Atomium spheres again and again. The art work, 9 metres high, is made in stainless steel and a major part of it is painted in red. All the ends of the growth arms are mirror-polished so as to reflect images of the surroundings: people, light, sunset, trees, clouds etc. This reflection appears as if coming from the inside of the sculpture and it gives the idea of being able to look into its DNA structure -our social structure-, as if using an atomic force microscope. The RockGrowth represents development and changes, innovation and emotional growth at the same time.

– Arik Levy

Image © Christophe Licoppe Befocus

The RockGrowth is made in stainless steel, with a major part of it painted in red. The sculpture features a central structure with arms and facets growing, and extending into space. The ends of the arms are mirror polished to reflect its surroundings.

Image © Christophe Licoppe Befocus

“This reflection will appear as if coming from the inside of the sculpture and will give the idea of being able to look into its DNA structure -our social structure-, as if using an atomic force microscope. The reflections that represent our life, society as well as the environment will become the initiator of any reason of being. The RockGrowth represents development and changes, innovation and emotional growth at the same time….the reflections will be forever dynamic and animate the piece endlessly”, mentions Arik Levy.

Image © Christophe Licoppe Befocus

About RockGrowth Atomium

RockGrowth represents the evolution of the Absent Nature, (ongoing project) : the impossible assumption – from a biological point of view – of planting a “Rock” (mineral) as a vegetal seed and observe, as a witness, its germinating process and growth, taking part in the genetic intimacy of its evolving nature and natural process, and have it interact with my own thinking. I feel the need to create my own world of possibilities and projections, assumptions and axioms.

Image © Christophe Licoppe Befocus

When the Rock is planted or put in the ground the mineral transforms by bio-mimicry, adopts a vegetal DNA and germinates. It grows, erects and develops both over and under ground. Each and every one of its facets grows and develops at its own speed, direction and dimension, giving birth to a faceted tree trunk that later, when cut, becomes a faceted Log. Simultaneously, both bulbs and roots produce branching points of growth where the developing facets will extend.

Each one of these outgrowths becomes a RockGrowth: if you dismember and section the growing parts, by separating roots, bulbs and branches from the main core, the isolated element reveals its mineral nature and goes back to resembling a unique atom or out of space formation. Its reflection and geometry create a complex and dynamic image, like a still from a movie of an ever-growing fast-forward reality.

*All images and information courtesy of Arik Levy.