Information
The Artist and his oeuvre
Herman Bing is the alias / artist name of Ad Hemels, born in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, on December 16, 1948 and died, also in Alkmaar, on August 14, 2022.
The most striking part of Herman Bing’s oeuvre are his works on paper. Drawing has been an important part of his extensive career. Bing’s drawing oeuvre, ranging from notebooks to formal drawing works, providing insight into the artist’s view of the world, and thus, into the core of his work.
“My work is an ongoing dialogue between the found and the created, between tradition and experiment. Each piece is an attempt to capture the essence of human experience in material and form.”
Besides his evening shifts at the post office, Bing spent his free time drawing, cutting, pasting, and constructing, with no more than a handful of people seeing the results. Only in the last 15 years of his life was he encouraged to do so by those familiar with his work, even reluctantly, by sharing his oeuvre publicly, for example, by self-publishing books of his work and, starting in 2012, with several exhibitions.
Herman Bing’s work is extensive and, with a few exceptions, is still collected. Selling was not an option for Herman. It seemed difficult for him to part from his work.
This also applies, incidentally, to exhibiting his work. There were several exhibitions during his lifetime, but it was always very difficult to persuade him to participate. He associated exhibitions with a large scale, which he admitted to having a strong aversion to. This is undoubtedly related to his tendency towards intimacy.
Now for his work; as said, his oeuvre is extensive and highly varied: a total of 4,200 drawings, paintings, collages, photomontages, assemblees, typescripts, postcards, and Luciferalia—matchboxes with painted and decorated fronts-.
Drawing, incidentally, has always been “his thing.” He made several striking statements about it; more on that later.
Drawing lay dormant for a long time after his childhood.
The years following his return to his hometown were primarily devoted to study, encompassing a wide range of subjects he recorded in notes and writing poetry, among other things. It wasn’t until 1983, in what he called a “media vita” moment, that he suddenly began to draw again. Inspired by an existing work of art, which unfortunately can no longer be traced, as he said a kind of drawing frenzy erupted within him that would last in full intensity for almost forty years.
He initially rediscovered drawing in the margins of his writing. He considered himself a non-didact who had no teachers but was guided by shining examples. It dawned on him that, in his case, drawing is not only enjoyable and interesting, but that it might well be a late calling.
His drawings can be distinguished through several phases related to the subjects he was focusing on at the time. The themes captured in the drawings have resulted in series under the following names:
Opuscula Minuscules
Opuscula Minuscules – Hundreds of A6-sized cards. He began drawing and pasting them in 1983. The artist also characterizes these as “small waste and other debris.” He sees the small size of the drawings as “little drawing things and quick prayers pasted onto archive cards, serving as guardians against evil in whatever form.”
Ock à Eck
Ock à Eck: “a,” in his words, “crazy visual story with neuroses that swerve from topic to topic, a mixture of intoxication and intoxication versus listlessness, where the various storylines intertwine.” The images are a combination of drawings, photo collages, and text. The series consists of over 600 images and reads like a picture book. The inspiration for the work came from a conference he gave during a festive celebration of his parents’ wedding anniversary in 1995.
Codex Violet
Codex Violet: according to Herman, his magnum opus. A subtle network of zones and transitions. The ultimate dream drawing book, years of work, collected in several kilos of thick books, each with its own color and title. Herman remarked about this project: “I have always been afraid that the completion of the Codex will in some way empty my life.” Unlike the work Ock à Eck, the focus of the Codex is on drawing.
Luciferalia & Viewing Boxes
He called Luciferalia “My Private Portrait Gallery, an oppressive collection of popes, prelates, clowns, and perverts.” And of the viewing boxes, he noted: “Everyday objects acquire a magical expressive power.”
His Home/Studio
Herman lived in the same apartment for over fifty years, located in one of the suburbs bordering the center of Alkmaar. Over the years, the center of the apartment has changed from a Livingroom into a studio with colossal bookcases against the walls and in between a table and chair with and surrounded by drawings, attributes, viewing boxes full of small works of art and mirrors.
Gradually the space has acquired the character of a work of art.
Herman himself called his home the upstairs house/lumber room. Much of the studio’s interior design is captured in photographs, a selection of which to be seen in a video posted / to be posted on YouTube.
Exhibitions
Several exhibitions were held during his life and after his death, including in Alkmaar, Bergen, Dordrecht and Lauzerte (France).
A number of these exhibitions have been captured on video. Several videos can be seen on YouTube under the name …
The artistic legacy
After his death, his artistic legacy passed to a foundation he established himself, named Stichting Beheer Collectie ‘Herman Bing’.
Stichting Beheer Collectie Herman Bing
Stichting Beheer Collectie Herman Bing, herein after referred to ‘The Herman Bing Foundation’ aims to introduce the work of the artist to a wide audience. The Herman Bing Foundation is the heir to Herman Bing’s entire artistic oeuvre, which includes Literature.
The foundation’s goal is to keep Herman Bing’s work alive for the public. It does this by actively managing the collection and organizing museum exhibitions of his work.
Mobile Museum
The Herman Bing mobile museum does not have a permanent location but organizes exhibitions on its own initiative and on request at various locations.
Website
The content and design of this website are not final, as the website may be subject to changes in insight.