Object Rotterdam 2025

A long-held dream came true as On Masks was finally realised in its intended material—metal/bronze—and had their successful debut! Once again, Anne van der Zwaag and her team curated an exciting show for this year’s OBJECT, in the city centre of Rotterdam. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came and to Foundry Atelier80 for transforming my wood sculptures into bronze with such care and precision.
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Einmal mehr kuratierte das Team unter der Leitung von Anne van der Zwaag eine aufregende Messe für das diesjährige OBJECT in Rotterdams Zentrum. ‘On Masks’ durfte dabei sein Debüt im lang vorgesehenen Material – Bronze feiern! Ein herzliches Dankeschön an alle die gekommen sind, und an die Gießerei Atelier80 für die sorgfältige und präzise Transformation von den Holzoriginalen in Bronze.

CARVED FRAGILITY: ‘Full of Patience’ welcomes us at the triangle’s peak of On masks, where Teresa Hunyadi’s sculptures take their own presence during Object Rotterdam 2025. In its illusory bronze-wooden surface, it cannot decide whether it is a cow or a donkey — it is both. The hybrid figure is followed by companions, silently leading us into a pacifist legion that can be worn. The bronze animal masks immediately take me back to the Saturnalia rituals, when, even before Carnival, priests and deacons would dress as donkeys, immersing themselves in a role-reversal game. For a few days, they fully embraced their animal nature in one of the oldest rituals, where the exception confirms the rule*.
What once offered excess and protection, allowing one to adopt another identity and shield one’s own, now takes sculptural form in Teresa’s helmets. Wych Elm, Kapok, and Gean — taken from their birthplaces — transform their wood grain into protective and watchful bronzes. Among them, ‘Inshalla’ stands out—a mask with closed eyes that evokes our innate animal trust and our bond with dogs — creatures long tamed, yet still closing their eyes in complete surrender and confidence. Slowly, each spirit animal glides onto the heads of the fortunate wearers, concealing their faces in absolute trust in the animality within.
The person has almost vanished—or perhaps now inhabits the mask itself. In a play on words, it reminds us that ‘mask’ has its roots in ‘persona,’ suggesting that it is merely another aspect of being. Without it, vitality is lost; it opens up to the crystallization of a fragile moment that marks each of these helmets and defines the embodiment, the sensitive relationship between the artist and the material. This fragility has become protection, transforming into delicate bronze shields. Luisa Badino
*Hyde, Lewis, 2017, Trickster makes the world, how disruptive imagination creates culture, The Canons;