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  • Sculptor: Dion Horstmans
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Sculptor: Dion Horstmans

 Photograph courtesy of Jay Harrison 

Originally born in Wellington, New Zealand, the now Sydney sider is enjoying the ocean life. With his larger than life beard and personality to match, his work reflects strong and bold, yet with intricately designed and extremely well thought out concepts which come to life playing with light and shadows. 

Dion has participated in both the Vivid Festival 2012, an annual festival of light, music and ideas, and SxS, Bondi’s International Sculpture Exhibition. He was included in a group show curated by Leo Tano at the Casula Power House and participated in Sculpture by the Sea in Cottesloe 2013 and also in Aarhus, Denmark 2013. In 2014, a major public art commission titled Super Sonic, a 91-piece steel sculpture weighing some 59 tonnes, was completed for 707 Collins St Melbourne. 

Participating also in the 2012 L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival Windows by Design. In 2011 he was a Finalist in the Promethius Art Award and Sculpture by the Sea. He has completed a number of commissions, including a large scale 85 metre public artwork at the new Melbourne 'Collins Place' precinct in Docklands, and has had his work featured in Vogue Living, Harpers Bazaar, and The Age (Melbourne) magazines, and is in Artbank and SJB Architects collections.

Dion has been a full time artist for 12 years and previously spent 15 years as a set builder in the film industry where he was able to hone his skill set and gain invaluable knowledge to go his own way. We catch Dion for a quick 5...

How did your sculpting interest first begin?

I didn’t realise that I wanted to work 3-dimensionally until 1996, up until then I drew. I’ve always loved tribal figures. 

We hear you’re no stranger to the film industry, any projects in the pipeline?

No plans…I left film quite a few years ago, I wanted to pursue my own dreams…the last film I worked on was mad max, I did 3 months creating hand weapons for the road warriors.

What has been a highlight of your work so far?

Every day brings another high light, I wake up excited about what I do…that’s probably the high light…I’m doing what I want to do…I love it!

As a designer, do you think living in Bondi has inspired any of your work?

Indirectly it has, bondi for me is the beach, it’s the ocean , it’s the horizon, the vista the sense of space and freedom. I can drop into the ocean and instantly be recharged….refreshed.

What’s your next adventure?

I wanna go check out shri lanka, and I’ll go back to the states later this year….i’m also in the process in setting up something in china with a fellow artist.

In Bondi, where do you like to go for:

Food? Sean’s and Icebergs for a proper dinner, D’arazio and Gelbisons for pasta and pizza, 2 n’ 12 for a burger….although Icebergs are doing a pretty wicked burger now. 
Coffee? Organic’s on Gould St and The Icebergs Terrace. 
Artwork inspiration? Mother nature...the horizon is forever changing, the clouds and the ocean. 

 

Follow @dionhorstmans

Check out Dion's 'Prismatic' until June 14th. 

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