Tom Claassen
BIO
Tom Claassen was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands in 1964. In the mid-80s, he attended St. Joost Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Breda, the Netherlands. He has been active in the Netherlands and abroad for more than twenty years.
Claassen has employed an astounding variety of materials for his sculptures, including marble, sand, silicone rubber, cast iron, concrete, aluminum, bronze, plaster, polyester, polystyrene, polyurethane, and wooden logs with the bark still on. Some of these he turns these into abstract forms, while others take on blocky human shapes, and still others mimic common objects, such as playing cards, a camping tent, a curtain, and full burlap sacks.
His work can be seen at NewArtCentre in Wiltshire, England, and in the collection of the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands. His work has also been exhibited in shows in Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and France, as well as the 4th Biennial of Istanbul, Turkey, and the 23rd Biennial of Sáo Paolo in Brazil.
ART
Claassen’s sculptures are often not what they seem to be. He creates a tension between the light tone of the subject matter and the weight of the rounded bronze forms. Claassen chose to use a traditional sculpture material—bronze, but enveloped the work in white paint—creating the impression of marshmallowy lightness. The rabbits are placed directly on the ground in an attempt to bring the sculptures “down to earth,” a departure from the way we usually view monuments and public sculpture.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
ABOUT THE SCULPTURE

Untitled (Two Rabbits), 2004
Bronze
87″ x 61″ x 55″, 63″ x 68″ x 45″
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Scarecrow, 2006 Tom Claassen
Untitled (Two Rabbits), 2004 Jonathan Clarke
Lifestyle, 2006 Niki de Saint Phalle
Adam & Eve, 1985-1989 Jim Dine
Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels, 2008 Mark di Suvero
Aesop’s Fables, 1990 Jean-Michel Folon
Voyage, 1999 Laura Ford
Bird, 2007 Keith Haring
Untitled (Ringed Figure), 1987 Käi
Love Vs. Money, 2017 Fernand Léger
Femmes Au Perroquet, 1952 Aristide Maillol
La Riviere, 1938 – 1943 Ju Ming
Tai Chi Singlewhip, 1998 Igor Mitoraj
Eros Bendato, 1999 Julian Opie
Kiera & Julian Walking, 2002
Bruce & Sara Walking, 2007 Tom Otterness
Kindly Geppetto, 2001 Mimmo Paladino
Zenit, 1999 Martin Puryear
Untitled (Bench), 2008 George Rickey
Four Rectangles Oblique, 1979 Tony Smith
Night, 1962 Bernar Venet
2 Arcs X 4, 230.5 Degree, Arc X 5, 1999-2000 Erwin Wurm
Big Suit, 2010 Kan Yasuda
Door of Return, 2001 Jack Youngerman
Samarkand, 1981